Jaune's Cat
by bulletproofpencil
Summary: Jaune finds a new friend, a kitten. Is Jaune capable of keeping up the responsibilities of owning a pet?
1. Chapter 1

Jaune heard scratching at the door of his dorm room and a small creature making sounds that were close to crying, but he just rolled over ignoring it. The sounds were constant and getting louder as the moments passed it was hard to ignore. After several minutes of being unable to go to sleep, he finally got out of bed to investigate. He slowly crept over to the door and opened it slowly to avoid waking his teammates. In the dim light, he looked down to find a small, gray and spotted feline creature sitting and looking up at him, as if begging to be let in, to which he obeyed the creature's begging gaze.

Carrying it over to his bed, he sat down and set it beside him. He carefully scrutinized what he just let into his room, deeming it cute, fuzzy and not threatening at all. After watching it crawl around his bed space, Jaune began to notice that something was off. Whatever it was, it looked like a kitten, but it was the size of Zwei. 'Shouldn't that be the size of fully grown cat?' he wondered, then it dawned on him. He didn't know how to take care of a pet.

Ruby was awoken by the buzzing and ringing of her smartphone-like device, 'Jaune?' she thought, picking up, "Jaune, it's three, can't it wait until morning?"

"Ruby, can you come over," Jaune said, panicked, "Please, I need you right now."

"Um, ok," she said, totally misunderstanding his statement, "I don't know Jaune, if Yang finds out she'd kill both of us."

"What?" Jaune said confused, "Why would she do that?"

"I don't know," she said sarcastically, "but I'm pretty sure any older sister would kill a guy for asking their younger sister to visit them in the middle of the night."

"Ruby, this is serious," he said, sounding more urgent, "there's an animal in my bed and I'm not sure how to take care of it."

"Jaune," she said, embarrassed of what she thought her friend was asking her to do, "this conversation is getting weird, and I don't appreciate you coming onto me like this."

"What?!" Jaune nearly screamed, "Ruby, I'm not coming onto you. Just please come over and bring a can of Zwei's food. There's a large kitten thing here and it's not Blake."

Ruby trusted her friend's innocence and did what he asked. She showed up at Jaune's door with a can of Zwei's food and a can opener. "If this is some kind of fetish, you're dead to me," she yelled in a whisper, her cheeks a light shade of pink.

"Ruby, I don't know what you're talking about," Jaune lifted the large feline cub to her face, "I was telling you the truth when I said it was an animal. It looks like a kitten, but it's huge."

"Oh my gawd it's so cute," Ruby softly squealed, forgetting her misunderstanding. Using her speed, she was lying on Jaune's bed and holding the creature above her head.

"Thanks Ruby, I knew I could count on you," Jaune smiled as he opened the can of food. Setting it on the ground for his new feline friend, he turned to the redheaded girl, "So, what do you think he is? He's too big for a normal cat."

"I don't know, I think we should take him to Professor Ozpin and Peter, if you're gonna keep him you should at least get permission," Ruby said, stroking the creature's fur, "and Professor Peter should be able to identify what kind of animal he is."

"Okay, I'll do that in the morning, but I have to ask you something," he said with a serious look in his eyes, "I'm getting a weird feeling from it, like a very strong aura."

"I've noticed that too," she said, inspecting the creature further, "the amount of aura I'm feeling from it is almost the same as you. Only creatures trained for combat should have a noticeable amount of aura, but it's just a baby and it almost matches your aura."

Jaune stared at the creature in awe, both scared of the secrets it may hold and amazed, "I guess I'll just have to wait until the morning. Ruby, can I have a few more cans, just enough so I can keep it fed until I can find food that's better for him."

"Sure thing," Ruby smiled as she left, "oh, and sorry about earlier."

"No worries," Jaune awkwardly laughed, "you were sleepy, and I'm sure any other girl would think the same. Night, Ruby."

"Good night," she closed the door behind her, 'why did I think he was coming onto me? It must be the years spent around Yang.' Shrugging off the thought, she walked back to the dorm she shared with her team.

Ozpin was sitting in his office, looking out the window at the view of the kingdom when he felt the presence of two strong auras enter his office. To his surprise, he was met with Jaune holding a rather large kitten. "Professor, this kitten wandered to my dorm room, and I would like permission to keep him," Jaune nervously asked.

"Mister Arc, I assume you already know the rules we have concerning pets."

"I know, only animals trained for combat. You felt his aura too, didn't you? He's got a strong aura, that means he's either trained for combat, or he's a natural fighter waiting to be trained," Jaune pleaded.

"Are you sure you have the capability to train a combat animal?" Ozpin alluded to the permission he was going to give, regardless.

"No," he looked down in shame, "I admit, I'm probably the worst fighter here at Beacon. I can't say that I'm capable of training even a dog to sit, but if have the potential to become a huntsman then I have the potential to train alongside this cute and fuzzy creature to kill grimm."

Ozpin smiled at the boy's tenacity, "Very well. From this day forward, this snow leopard cub will be a part of team JNPR."

"What?!" Jaune's eyes widened at the creature cuddling in the headmaster's lap, "How can something this dangerous even get into a place like this?!"

"It's a big responsibility, Mister Arc," the headmaster ignored his outburst and set the cub onto the floor, "I'll arrange the local zoo to provide you with the essentials needed and please do keep him behaved, I'd hate to see such a majestic creature get put down because he mauled a student."

"What? Snow leopard? I own a snow leopard? I have to train a snow leopard?" was all that came out of his mouth on repeat on the way back to his dorm room. "Ruby, HALP!"


	2. Chapter 2

**Author's note: Writer's block is a plague that will be the end of all creativity.**

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><p>Jaune sat in the middle of the room watching the cub playfully wrestle with Zwei, his teammates as well as team RWBY talked about training. Nora was the only exception, concerned with only her elation to have a dangerous plaything as well as naming it. "You know, once you get past the fact that it's one of the most dangerous cats out there, he's kinda cute," Weiss said, moving to dangle cat toy over the cub's face. She smiled as the cat began poking, clawing and pouncing on the toy.<p>

"He's already eating solid food," Blake speculated, "so he has to be at least two months old. We should start training him as soon as possible."

"I say we should throw him in the arena with a boarbatusk and watch them fight to the death!" Nora exclaimed.

"Nora, we're not gonna accidentally kill a team member, and I think Jaune should be the one to train it," Ren suggested.

"What?! But I'm not great at fighting, what if I get mauled by the leopard for not being strong enough?" Jaune nervously objected.

"It's an opportunity for you to get stronger," Pyrrha cut in, "you're similar to it, strong aura, still like a child when it comes to combat, and still growing."

"Hey," Jaune reacted to the unintended insult, "I'm not that bad at fighting."

"Jaune, you were knocked out by Zwei last week," Ruby painfully reminded him of his inept combat abilities.

"So it's decided, Jaune will train with the snow leopard. So what's his name?" Yang asked. Everyone's eyes turned to Jaune.

"What?" he shrugged, "I thought Nora was gonna name him something ridiculous."

As she opened her mouth to blurt out an overly aggressive name, Ren grabbed her by the waist and covered her mouth, "I think you should have the honor of naming him since you were the one who found him."

"I don't know, about names," Jaune picked up the cub and set him down in his lap to stroke his back, "his color does remind me of ashes."

"That's perfect!" Ruby yelled, "Ash, for his gray fur."

The cub looked up at Ruby in response to the name he was just given. "I think he likes it," Jaune held the feline to his face, "What do you say? Can we call you Ash?" The cat swiped at his nose and made a distinct purring noise as he exhaled.

"I'm pretty sure he likes it," Blake smiled at how cute the cub looked in Jaune's hands.

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><p>"…We were surprised to hear that a student got his hands on a snow leopard cub, how'd you even separate it from its mother?" the zookeeper asked, opening the storage shed.<p>

"I'm not the one who did it, he just showed up at my dorm room door," Jaune held his hands up in defense, "he was really hungry though, he ate a can of wet dog food pretty fast."

"Well, at any rate, here's what you need," the zookeeper pulled out a list, "a Kevlar harness for a medium-small dog, high carbon steel leash, and three hundred pounds of raw assorted meats for this month…"

Jaune's stomach dropped with each item on the list, "Um, this all sounds expensive, how much is this gonna cost me?"

"No need to worry about that, since Beacon has decided to take full responsibility for this animal and you're it's caretaker, it won't cost you more than your time training him," the zookeeper's statement put Jaune at ease. "Now, when the leopard gets bigger, please come back with him so we can get you the appropriate size, he's only two months so it's easy to guess his size right now."

"Mmmkay, I don't think I can carry three hundred pounds of raw meat back to the school, but I'll bring the harness, leash, and ten pounds of it with me, Ash must be starving by now."

"Oh don't worry about that, we'll have it delivered to the school, but you might want to ask Ozpin about storage, raw meat tends to go bad pretty quickly," the zookeeper warned.

"Thanks so much for helping out, I hope I'll be able to handle him."

"Oh, you better," the zookeeper answered, "If he deems you unworthy to be its leader, he'll kill you."

Jaune nervously stuttered, "K-kill me?"

"I wouldn't worry too much, he's still a cub," the zookeeper tried to calm Jaune, "you have at least a month, maybe less, before he starts fighting and hunting. By the way, my name's Venus; feel free to contact me if you happen to run into any trouble raising your snow leopard cub."

Jaune sat in his room alone, watching Ash wrestle with the raw steak he gave him. Getting down on all fours, bringing his eye level down to the cub, he stared intently into his innocent blue eyes, "Ash, I'm not going to be your leader, I'm not even going to be your trainer. I will be your training partner, and your friend. We will respect each other and cooperate on missions. We will grow together alongside our teammate and-,"

Jaune's monologue to the cub was interrupted by Ash's playful swipes to his nose, followed by a groan that seemed akin to a cat's meow. As if understanding Jaune's words, the leopard cub rested its paw on his hand. "Aw, isn't that cute, you're bonding," Jaune and Ash turned to see the redhead, clad in Amazonian themed armor, walking through the door.

"Pyrrha, I don't know what to do," he sighed and let the cub continue to play with his food, "I'm not much stronger than the bots on easy difficulty in the training hall, how am I supposed to train a leopard to fight if I'm not that strong."

"Like you said, Jaune, grow alongside it," Pyrrha reminded him of his words. "Look, his hunting instincts are starting to kick in," she said, noticing the way Ash wrestled and bit into his steak, "you and Ash should start tomorrow."

After Pyrrha had left for her next class and Ash had finished his food, Jaune picked up Crocea Mors and led his new companion to the training hall. "I'm going to get stronger, or die trying," he said to himself as he turned the room difficulty to maximum. The room's mechanisms started to whir and the wall in front of him opened up to reveal his enemies. "Holy shit!" was all that could be heard from outside the locked door.


	3. Chapter 3

"Holy shit!" Jaune screamed the moment he saw the pack of deathstalkers. "Why are they even here?"

"_Beacon Academy houses live creatures of grimm for training, courtesy of Professor Peter," _a computerized voice answered.

"Then get me the hell out of here," he yelled back.

"_If we do that, we risk the creatures escaping this enclosure and harming other students,"_ the computerized voice spoke again.

Jaune backed up nervously, regretting his brash decision, but it was too late. The doors were locked, only to open when the enemies have been cleared. Steeling his nerves, he quickly unhooked the leash holding Ash back, and took a defensive pose. The cub growled and took his position, crouched low to the ground, baring his teeth. On his mark, Jaune charged the pack of oversized scorpions, his companion right behind him.

Jaune was tossed around, beaten several times, and took several claws to the face. His scroll was making a high pitched beeping, indicating his weakening aura. Ash was jumping about, dodging attacks, trying to stay alive. Jaune could barely stand, his aura was weakening by the second, the deathstalker in front of him raised its claw ready to strike. "I guess this is it," he said out loud. As the attack came down, he closed his eyes to accept his fate.

"Hey, where's Jaune?" Ren asked nonchalantly as his teammates joined him in the dorm room, "He's usually working on homework or training with you, Pyrrha."

"I don't know, I waited for about an hour before coming down here," Pyrrha shrugged.

"I don't know, but I heard some crazy guy's in one of the rooms at the training hall with the difficulty at ten deathstalkers! Apparently he's been in there all afternoon," Nora said before taking one of Ren's Pocky.

"You don't think…" Ren trailed off. A moment passed before the trio guessed who was in the training hall.

"Jaune!" they screamed in unison before rushing out of the room.

Jaune threw his sword at the deathstalker that almost took Ash by surprise, impaling its eye. The snow leopard bounced off the grimm in front of him, perfectly landing on the hilt of Crocea Mors, driving it deeper into the beast. Meanwhile Jaune blocked a claw, while another pair jabbed at the shield of aura at his back. Bashing his shield downward onto the deathstalker's head, distracting it, Ash jumped to grab the stinger using the momentum to twist it off with a satisfying crunch. Retrieving his sword, Jaune slid under the next enemy, thrusting the blade into the beast's underside.

He fought for dear life, every movement, every swing of his blade, every block, they seemed to come naturally. He didn't know if it was fear or instinct, it could have been both, Jaune didn't question it one bit. After the last enemy had fallen, he let his legs buckle and he fell to the ground. Jaune's nervous chuckle turned into a hysterical laughter, "I'm alive? Sweet mother of God, I'm still alive!"

On the other side of the entrance, his teammates and friends were trying their best to break down the door to free their friend. After all the abuse the door took, the smoke cleared to reveal that the door was still standing. "This is hopeless, we need to get Ozpin," Yang threw her hands up in frustration.

"Ruby, use your speed to get him," Pyrrha desperately ordered the young leader, "I don't want to bury our leader before our first mission."

"Got it," Ruby complied, getting ready to launch herself, "ow."

Before she had the chance to start running, the door opened up to allow a golden object to come flying at Ruby's head. The rest of the group peered inside to see a black corpse disintegrating and Jaune hooking the metal leash back onto Ash's harness. The group of teenagers stared in disbelief as he hung his weapon from his belt and walked out of the room with the snow leopard cub leading the way.

Pyrrha was the first to express her relief, pulling Jaune into a death grip of a hug, "Jaune don't ever make us worry like that again."

"You could have died, you idiot," Weiss scowled, then proceeded to pick up the leopard cub, "and you could have gotten this cutie killed."

"Anyway, you just took on a pack of deathstalkers," Ruby noted, "how did you survive?"

"Pyrrha's training really paid off," Jaune lied, wanting to keep his semblance a secret, "besides, I had Ash with me. Have you seen a snow leopard fight?!"

Pyrrha seemed suspicious of what he claimed. Sure his swordplay had improved over the last few months, but there's no way he could have survived that long against an ursa alone, much less a pack of deathstalker. She noticed his aura had been depleted, close to death. 'He must have figured out how to use aura,' she thought, 'it would make sense, since he's still standing.'

Just as he was about to take another step, Jaune's vision went black and he collapsed, falling forward onto his face. "Don't worry, he's still alive," Professor Ozpin walked down from the observatory deck, "he seems exhausted, you should probably take him back his bed."

Ozpin continued to sip his coffee as he watched the rest of team JNPR carry them off. He couldn't help but be impressed by his growth in combat skill the young leader had just underwent. He held a slight smile, turning away from the remaining group to walk in the direction of his office. "Ozpin, you were watching, weren't you?" the headmaster paused mid-stride.

"Yes, Miss Belladonna, I was," he calmly answered, "it is my job to oversee the growth of my students."

"Then can you tell us how he survived?" Ruby interjected, "Even team JNPR had trouble with the first grimm that they fought. How was he able to take down a pack of deathstalkers?

"He's a very interesting one," he paused to take another sip, "but I believe it's not my place to tell you. Your friend should be the one to tell you."


	4. Chapter 4

**Author's note: This isn't the best that I can come up with, but having writer's block and all makes it super difficult to come up with ideas. So I hope you guys enjoy, I'm having a lot of fun trying to move the story along. I will hint at romance here and there, but I really don't know who I'm gonna pair with Jaune.**

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><p>One by one, the corpses piled up before they could finish disintegrating. A vicious roar and a whimper could be heard from several miles away. Loud thuds can be heard from bodies dropping, and Jaune's unmistakable grunts and yells echo through the night. A flurry of coordinated attacks, almost nonstop, came from the hunstman in training and the young snow leopard. "Amazing, it's only been a month and these two…" Glynda commented as she watched the scene.<p>

"I'm not surprised," Ozpin said, taking another sip of his coffee that never seemed to run out, "the boy does have to possess an enormous amount of strength and skill to be able to command a beast like this."

"Don't you think it's odd?" the witch adjusted her glasses and monitored her scroll, "I've never seen any huntsman or huntress undergo such growth in such a small amount of time."

"I have, but just once," Ozpin explained, "he wasn't the best fighter, but he was a good friend. Usually on and off the battlefield he was an uncoordinated buffoon, and everyone questioned his decision to become a huntsman. There was a time when his friends and comrades were in danger during the last war.

"Though he was severely injured," Ozpin continued, "he somehow protected our unit from the oncoming attacks. By then I was unconscious, but when I came to, I was in a hospital bed, my comrades still out cold in the beds next to me. I looked around and there he was at the foot of my bed, smiling as if nothing ever happened and not a visible scratch on him. That man carried the same sword and shield as that young boy over there."

"Is that the reason you let him stay?!" Glynda was shocked at her leader, "Even after we found out his transcripts were forged, you let him stay because you owe his father?!"

"Of course not, that would be reckless," Ozpin noticed the irony of his statement, "I believe that this boy will grow to save many more lives. You're observing him right now, aren't you? His skills as a combatant are better than our fourth year students."

"It's still pretty reckless to let him out here by himself," Glynda pouted.

"He'll be fine," the headmaster waved his hand, "oh look, the grimm are running away."

Jaune used a medium sized stone for a seat, his companion affectionately nuzzled up against his face. "You did great, boy," he said, stroking the gray fur. He pulled out a plastic Ziploc bag of raw chicken from his backpack, "and I didn't even have to use my aura this time."

The now larger snow leopard snatched the bag out of his friend's hand, flailing it around until it broke open and released its contents. Ash excitedly gathered his rewards and brought a piece to Jaune in return. The blonde took the meat, waved it around to get the cub's attention, and then threw it in the air for him to catch.

"Well done, Mister Arc," Ozpin, with Glynda at his side, walked towards the pair. "I have to say, you've improved immensely since that time we launched you off Beacon Cliffs."

"Thank you, sir, it has gotten so much easier," Jaune said before he realized that during the event his headmaster was talking about, he didn't have any skill worth noting, "Hey, wait a minute-"

"We should get back to the academy," Ozpin interrupted as an airship descended to their location, "we wouldn't want your team to worry about your whereabouts again, now would we?"

"Alright," Jaune replaced Ash's ruined harness with a new one, hooked the leash and led him to the airship.

As soon as the pair was out of earshot, Glynda showed a message from her scroll to the headmaster, "What are we going to do about this?"

"We do nothing," he said, with a cold edge to his voice, "I will protect these students as best as I can, they're too young know what it feels to take another life. And don't alarm the students; this is to be kept between you and me."

Jaune slipped into the dorm room exhausted; taking off his armor he inspected the damage. He spotted several dents and scratches, but when he got the back plate that protects his rear, he saw a large portion of it was ripped off. "Aw, man," he sighed, "this is gonna cost a fortune to replace."

"What have you been doing?" Nora looked up from the comic book that lay on her lap, "I'm pretty sure the training bots don't do that kind of damage."

"Deathstalkers got lucky," though that wasn't a complete lie, Jaune hated lying to his team, "you know, maximum level and all."

"Oh, well if you need new armor, there are facilities for forging weapons and armor," she replied. "Ooh, I know, I'll help you! We'll make you look super badass! We'll put spikes, a gun on your helmet, and a cannon on your arm…"

"Nora, I'm pretty sure Jaune wants to still be able to move," Ren reminded her.

"Aww, but-,"

"No, no, Nora, I just want some simple armor," Jaune sighed and exited the room.

On the way to the forge, Jaune couldn't help but ponder on Nora's suggestion. 'I could use some leg covering; I would hate to break my kneecap, I heard they don't heal very fast.'

"Hey Jaune," Ruby jumped out of her room.

"Or maybe something that could attach to my hood, yeah that would be cool," Jaune smiled as he began to think out loud, still not noticing his fellow leader's presence.

"Hello, are you there?" Ruby, to no avail, waved her hand in front of his face for attention, "Remnant to Jaune, Remnant to Jaune, please come in."

"I do have to fix my breastplate, hehe, breastplate," Jaune giggled to himself, "Oh, hey Ruby."

"Hey Jaune," Ruby climbed down from his back. "So what are you mumbling about?"

"Oh, I damaged my armor, and I need some help replacing it," Jaune explained to the small girl.

"Oh, I can help you with that," Ruby said with a hint of hopefulness in her voice, "I did build Crescent Rose."

"Yeah, you mentioned that like a million times," Jaune rolled his eyes, "but I do need help, I've never touched dust before. Pretty please."

"We need to do it carefully if we're going to add dust, I don't think you want to explode either."

"That's funny coming from you, crater face," Jaune playfully tugged her hood.

"Whatever, vomit boy," Ruby childishly stuck out her tongue as they continued to make their way to the school's forge.


	5. Chapter 5

**Author's note: *Sigh* I'm just never satisfied with my own work... I don't know how many times I rewrote this chapter, I lost count after 5. Anyways, this is the one that I felt that didn't suck as much as the others. I hope you guys enjoy.**

**Edit: If you're having a hard time imagining the new armor look up XChess88 on deviantart, the armor concept is amazing.**

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><p>Ruby and Jaune had set to work on the designs of his new armor. Every angle, every line, and every sketch were so precisely drawn. It had to be perfect… Oh who are we kidding, they were bickering over whose drawing looked better. "I'm telling you, Jaune, the spikes would look awesomer," Ruby argued.<p>

"No, Ruby, I wouldn't be able to make those if I tried," Jaune countered, "besides, I don't think I would be able to move much with spikes that huge."

"Well, it's not like yours is any better," Ruby crossed her arms in defiance.

"Mine is simple, a better breastplate, and some leg protection," Jaune held up his drawing, "and it's got an armored cloak thing, it looks super badass."

"That looks more like a skirt," she refuted.

"No it doesn't, the statue in front of Beacon has something like this!"

"That's a girl."

"And a guy!"

"Can you two please keep it down?" Weiss interrupted, "I can hear your bickering all the way from the school library. You two sound like children."

"Then settle something for us, beautiful," Jaune approached the girl in white as suavely as he could, "which of these two designs would make better armor for yours truly?"

The white haired girl snatched the drawings from Jaune's hands, visibly creeped out by his approach. She closely examined both, weighing protection and functionality in both designs. Holding up Ruby's drawing, "This one looks like it was drawn by a ten-year old," she started, "seriously, it's too bulky and the spike prevent the wearer from even taking a step. And I don't think anyone could see through that helmet, it has no eyeholes."

"This design, however, is much more simple and functional," she continued her review, "The minimalist design, covering the essentials like torso, arms, fingers and legs was a great call. The way it's designed, it would make it easy to even do gymnastics in. I'd imagine, combined with aura or a defensive semblance, it could make you unstoppable and immovable. But it's not like you'd be able to figure out how to use either any time soon. I guess that it'll be enough to save your family jewels from being cut off on the battlefield."

"Thanks, Weiss, and I thought you could get through complimenting my handiwork without insulting me for once," Jaune complained as he retrieved the designs, "I told you so, Ruby."

"Whatever, my design would have still been better," she pouted.

"Now that that's settled, will you two _please_ shut up so I can get some studying done?!" the young heiress arrogantly turned and started towards the library.

"So, what do we do now?" Jaune looked around, puzzled to what the first step is.

"First we have to choose the materials, do you want it strong or light?" Ruby said, raising her index finger.

"Can't it be both, I do like being able to move normally," Jaune sheepishly asked, "I don't mean to be picky, but-,"

"Actually, Jaune, that's fine," Ruby corrected, "be as picky as you need to be, this is an armor we're making to your exact likings, so it has to fit your needs."

"Thanks Ruby," Jaune grinned.

"Something light but sturdy enough to take multiple hits from, let's say a nevermore," Ruby thought to herself as she examined the materials available. Her eyes lit up as she came across a dull purple-blue colored bar of metal, struggling to pick up a bar, she exclaimed, "This is perfect! It's super dense, and strong."

"Um, I thought we were going for light too," Jaune scratched the back of his head in confusion.

"We will," she said, placing the bar in his hands, "we just have to melt it with a bunch of other stuff to make it lighter."

Jaune dropped all the gathered materials into the crucible and lit the fire, regulating the flow of gas into the furnace. "So how long is this going to take?"

"About a few hours, maybe more," Ruby really didn't know, "we'll just wait until it gets all liquidy and stuff."

"Well, I brought some playing cards to pass the time," he produced a deck of playing cards from his pocket, "any games that you know?"

It didn't take long before the metal was ready to be poured into the casts to be turned into sheets of metal. After passing the time by exhausting every card game and trick either could come up with, it didn't take long before they both got incredibly bored. "Why do you like Weiss?" Ruby decided to ask after watching Jaune put away the deck of cards.

"Why do you ask?" Jaune shot back, curious of the intent of the question.

"Just asking, you've already been rejected several times," Ruby answered with a concerned look on her face, "she's insulted you, laughed at your pain, and yet you still like her. Why? Just because she's a Schnee?"

"Because I can tell she's much more than just her family's name. She's incredible, she's smart, graceful, and talented; I mean her singing is just nothing less than amazing," Jaune began to describe all the things Ruby seemed to miss about the one she'd come to know as the Ice Queen. "Watching her spar in class is like watching a performance every time, all her passion and emotions are perfectly expressed in a deadly ballet."

Ruby's heart sunk with each description, each expression of his feelings seemed to feel like an arrow hitting the organ at the center of her chest. She still listened, trying to hide her pain. "She doesn't feel the same way about you," she said in attempt to get the pain to stop, "why do you still try?"

"It's impossible to choose who you fall for, Ruby," Jaune smiled through his pain. "I'll go check if the metal sheets are ready," Jaune found that the sheets were no longer glowing red. Upon further inspection, the constitution of the metal allowed it to be picked up with a clamp and he went right to work on shaping it.

Every strike was accurate and precise, not wanting to weaken the metal, but still wanting to shape each piece the way he wanted. Ruby watched in amazement as each piece of metal was slowly shaped into a piece of armor. After all the smaller pieces have been shaped to his liking, he began dexterously crafting his armor together. He carefully welded together several pieces, bound Ursa hide leather straps, and pieced it all together with artisan-like abilities. When he was finished, he placed it all on a mannequin to admire his work before wearing it.

"What do you think?" he asked, lifting his arms up and turning around for her.

"I think it would have looked better with the spikes," Ruby bantered, sticking her tongue out.


	6. Chapter 6

**Author's note: I finally had some inspiration, and then it went away after two sentences. Anyway, a review helps me with what direction to take a story and they're very much appreciated.**

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><p>"Plans are done, sir," a man wearing a grimm mask reported to another man with bright orange hair.<p>

"Thank you, friend, best news I've heard all week," he said, gleefully, taking another puff from his cigar.

"We're ahead of schedule, so what should we do now?"

"We do as every villain cliché do," he said sarcastically, "we'll take some time off, do some grocery shopping; maybe watch some pornos, until the time we planned it for."

"Really? Cause my daughter's birthday is coming up and-,"

"No, you simpleton, but tell your daughter happy birthday, no kid should go through a birthday without having their parents greet them. Other than that, we're not gonna wait for someone to go against us, there's a giant school full of freak kids down the fucking street that can take down an aircraft mid-air without even trying," he explained, "we're going ahead of schedule so we have the upper hand. Get it?"

"Oooh, got it, boss. I'll tell everyone else," the White Fang agent walked out of the room to report back to his fellow agents.

"My my, aren't we a little paranoid," a seductive voice came from the shadow of his office.

"Sweetheart, this plan of yours is crazy," he answered, shaking the ashes off the burning end of his cigar, "I'm a classy criminal, not a war starter! I'm doing this for the money, beyond this, it's your business, you got it?! You still owe me for that week I spent with Ironwood, that cell was just so fucking boring."

"Don't worry, your payment will arrive in due time," the hourglass figure, colored with a red dress, stepped out of the shadow. She walked with a sway over to him. Firmly massaging his shoulders, she spoke into his ear, "You just have to finish your part."

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><p>"<em>All first year students please gather in your respective teams and meet in the auditorium,"<em> A voice spoke over the intercom.

As soon as all the students were accounted for, the headmaster took his place at the pulpit to deliver his announcement, "Good morning. As you know, all teams here at Beacon Academy are regularly sent out on missions accompanied by a professional huntsman or huntress. I have gathered you all here today to let you know that you are going on your first mission. As you exit, there are several mission boards available to only you lot at the moment; the missions will be a first come first serve basis, so choose your mission wisely. If your accompanying huntsman or huntress deems you or your team unworthy of completing the task, they have the right to send you back here to Beacon. That is all."

As the crowds dispersed to check the mission boards, teams JNPR and RWBY already had trouble deciding to choose theirs. "We could always sneak away and fight our way down to that area," Blake suggested.

"Yeah, but we'd probably get expelled the moment we get back to Beacon," Weiss countered.

"Maybe we could do this search and destroy in quadrant five, it's exactly where we're heading anyway," Ruby stated as she poked at the interacted display. The display showed an error, indicating the need of two teams.

"Maybe we can't do that one," Yang shrugged.

"Yes, we can. Wait here, I know who to ask," Ruby sped off and retrieved Jaune, who, for some much needed comic relief, was tucked under her arm with team JNPR in pursuit.

"Can I help you, Ruby?" Jaune asked, confused as to how a small girl could carry him in such a fashion.

"We needed help on this search and destroy mission and it's a two team mission and I was wondering if team JNPR could take this mission with us. We were gonna use this mission as an excuse to investigate the area for a secret White Fang base, please help us," Ruby blurted it out as fast as she could, right before the rest of team JNPR arrived to double over to catch their breath.

"You'd have to ask my team," he then turned to his teammates and asked them directly, "What do you say, guys? Do we want to take the mission to quadrant five with team RWBY?"

"It is closer to that village you and Ren wanted to stop by, Nora," Pyrrha said, taking Ruby's side.

"Hmmm, okay!" Nora quickly spoke for both her and her childhood friend.

"Then it's settled," Jaune entered his team code along with Ruby. "We're all going to be stuck together until we graduate, aren't we?" he asked both groups.

"You're stuck with all of us whether you want to or not," Yang affirmed his suspicions with a light punch to his arm.

"The mission prompt says we'll meet our chaperoning huntsman tomorrow morning at the landing pad, that should be more than enough time to get ready," Ruby announced to the teams before they all separated to prepare.

"Hey Weiss," Jaune said, pulling her to the side, "can I talk to you?"

"What do you want now?" the heiress demanded, "I have a lot of stuff to pack, you know."

"Yeah, I know, I do too, but," Jaune paused for a moment to recollect his nerves, "I was wondering, if you have time later, we could go out together for some coffee or some tea? No singing, no dancing, no stupid gimmick, just me."

"We're preparing to go on a mission, and all you can think about is a date?" the white-haired girl asked, angered by the question. "The answer is no, the answer is always going to be no. So please just stop asking and keep your feelings to yourself, and try to be a little more professional, you're a leader."

"Al-alright, I won't bother you anymore," the young leader walked away with his head hung in defeat, his broken heart about to jump out of his mouth.

Weiss turned to see the rest of her team and Pyrrha staring at her with disapproval, "What!?"

"Now that's just brutal, even for me and I'm the one usually breaking people," Yang started, "Pyrrha, wait!"

The Amazonian themed warrior angrily picked up the girl by her collar and lifted the young Schnee to her face, "I've gotten to know my leader pretty well these last few months, and if I were you, I would feel lucky to have him ask me out on a date instead of those jerks who want to date you for your money." The anger and emotion poured out from her mouth was displayed perfectly on her face as well, "He's too good for you, a stuck up princess who's too shallow to look past attractive physical features. I'm actually glad you turned him down, he doesn't deserve your constant bitching or the way you treat him." The taller redhead dropped the girl on her rear and walked away, deciding that it was the best course of action before her emotions got the better of her.

"Jeez, what is her problem?" Weiss got up and dusted herself off.

"You just don't get it do you?" Ruby answered her.

"Get what? What's so special about some nobody who got into Beacon just like the rest of us?" the heiress waved her hands in frustration, confused to why everyone cared so much.

"Just get ready, I expect you to be here early tomorrow morning," Ruby said coldly, "don't talk back to any orders from me, Jaune or our chaperone. Like you said, be a little more professional."


	7. Chapter 7

**Author's note: When I first started this story, I honestly didn't expect it to do so well, I really appreciate you people reading my writings. I love reading your reviews and suggestions, so please keep them coming.**

**Edit: So, apparently I left a sentence in that I forgot to delete. It does explain the reviews, anyway, I tweaked it slightly so it doesn't say that she falls in love, Weiss just feels something.**

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><p>"Two extra sets of clothes, extra dried meat for Ash, extra harness, toothbrush, toothpaste, insulated canteen," Jaune mumbled to himself as he checked his backpack one last time, "frozen meat that should be thawed by the time we reach the field, and extra leash." Jaune finished accounting for everything and slung the backpack over his shoulder. Hooking the snow leopard onto his leash, he led Ash outside to join the rest of his friends to meet their chaperone.<p>

"Are you okay, Jaune?" the violet-eyed teen was just met with silence as their leading huntsman walked towards them.

"Good morning teams, my name is Pluto and I will be leading you lot through a simple search and destroy mission. Our objective is to clear out grimm in the abandoned ruins of a failed expansion of Vale." Jaune noticed the man was a few inches taller than he was. He featured black shoulder and forearm guards, outlined with blue bezels. His greaves featured the same color scheme. "If there are no questions, then board the- is that a large cat and a corgi?" he pointed out.

"Yes sir, a snow leopard cub, his name is Ash," Jaune answered. "He's a part of team JNPR and will be accompanying us on this mission."

"This is Zwei, he's my dad's dog, we're just watching over him, but he can fight," Ruby made an excuse for her dad's dog.

"Alright, let's get on board," the huntsman announced, seemingly wary of the animals that had been brought along.

After everyone had boarded and strapped in, the airship took off. The ride to the outskirts of Vale was very familiar to Jaune, as he'd taken trips similar to this with his snow leopard cub and Ozpin for training. This was just another extended training trip to the two, who sat anxiously, ready to show how much they've grown. "We should talk about our strategies," Jaune turned to Ruby, "I'm pretty sure everyone here wants to make it back alive."

"What do you have in mind?" Ruby smiled.

"Yang, Ash and I will draw our enemy's attention while Ren, Blake and Weiss strike at close range while they're distracted. You, Nora and Pyrrha will provide long range support," Jaune calmly explained his plan as the group seemed to agree.

"Wait, just you and Yang? Jaune, that's crazy, it's like you're asking to die-,"

"Well maybe I am, ever thought of that Pyrrha?" Pyrrha could feel his animosity towards everyone in the cabin, "You and I both know I don't belong at Beacon, so if I die on this mission, it's as if the world corrects itself, if I don't I prove that I do."

The group was silent at the weight of their tactician's words. The supervising huntsman only laughed at the young leader's words. "I like you, kid, you got guts. Every huntsman needs to go into every mission fighting like they're going to die," he explained as he looked out the window and unbuckled his seat belt, "well, we're here, I assume you all have a landing strategy." He said as he jumped out.

The rest of the group followed suit, jumping out of the side of the plane one by one, even Ash. Jaune was the last, not having a landing strategy, he took a deep breath and jumped. When he opened his eyes, he saw the rest of his group looking up in concern, noticing the ground coming closer and closer. Smiling, he flipped over, holding his backpack to protect his belongings, and activated his semblance, glowing a dim white as he created a small crater upon landing. He stood up, dusted himself off and replaced his backpack onto his back.

Again, gaining the attention of both teams JNPR and RWBY, their jaws dropping at the impact, the only one amused was Pluto. "Now that's a landing strategy!" he yelled, patting the boy on the back in approval.

"How did you survive that?!" Weiss demanded, "You had all of us worried that you could have died."

"It's a special landing strategy that I came up with at the last second," he mused, not wanting to reveal his semblance just yet.

"Whatever, let's clear out this place, it's crawling with grimm," Pluto said, pulling out a pair of scimitars.

"Like we discussed, Yang, Ash and I will take the lead," he said, calling to his companion who was busy swatting at a dangling vine.

The group didn't advance far from their landing position when they encountered their first pack of beowulves. It was a pack much larger than any student has ever seen in the training room, but this was nothing Jaune hadn't seen before. Making the first moves, Ash and Jaune attacked the monsters with swift and deadly strikes, followed by Yang, making sure none advances further to the rest of the group. While the trio had the enemy's attention, following the plan, Weiss, Blake and Ren took the opportunity to quickly assassinate the grimm one by one. Off at a distance, Ruby and Pyrrha sniped at the crowds, while Nora sent groups of black bodies flying with her grenade launcher while Pluto noted their performance.

Before long, following Jaune's battle strategy, the group of hunters in training made their way down the street, block by block, sweeping for enemies and eliminating ones they encounter. Jaune had been glowing white all afternoon, taking multiple hits and acting as a wall to hide behind while Ash draws enemies towards him, effectively keeping the enemies' attention away from their friends. When night fell, Pluto had found an empty building to take refuge in until dawn.

Jaune decided to take the first watch, after giving Ash his dinner, he sat atop the edge of the roof, pistol in hand to shoot whatever approached. "So that's how you survived that first day in the training hall, a barrier semblance?" He turned to see a girl in black and red walk towards him.

"Yeah, you saw me glowing, didn't you?" he slightly smiled, turning his attention back to watching the entrances of the building.

"I'm sorry about what happened with Weiss yesterday," Ruby frowned, "you don't deserve to be treated like that."

"People don't change, Ruby," Jaune kept his eyes on the streets below, "you of all people should know how she acts."

"But maybe she might change if she knew how you felt," she suggested.

The princess dressed in white walked up the stairs to the roof to confront the blonde leader. Just as she was about to show her face, she hid as soon as she heard who they talked about. She listened as best as she could to hear their insults to add to her anger, but was met with something completely different.

"I doubt it," Jaune pointed the pistol at a boarbatusk, but the creature passed the building without a second thought. "She's an heiress to the biggest dust mining company. She's pretty much royalty. She's trained for combat, very talented, smart and graceful, I wish I could hear her sing right now," he reiterated what he'd told her a couple days prior, "I get why she'd overlook me without much thought."

"Jaune, you're a great guy, she just doesn't know what she's overlooking," she tried to comfort him.

"Are you kidding? I mean, look at me; I'm just some scraggly kid who made it here by cheating. When I met her, I was pinned to a tree, hanging from my hood," he ranted, "My singing sucks, and I can't really find any redeeming feature about myself. If I can't do that, what makes you sure Weiss could see anything in me?"

"Well, you're kind," Ruby countered, "You were the first person I've ever met at Beacon, and you are still the kindest. You're funny, you're a talented strategist and you can now hold back hordes of grimm on your own. They may not realize it, but you protected all of us, Jaune. If Weiss can't see any of that, then she overlooked a guy that any girl would be lucky to have." Ruby's face was a light shade of pink by the time she finished.

Jaune smiled, feeling a little better about himself, he looked up to meet her gaze, "Thanks Ruby. It's getting late, you should get some rest."

"Yeah, we have a long day tomorrow," she turned to walk back to the stairs.

Back in her hiding spot, Weiss felt a pain in her chest.


	8. Chapter 8

**Author's note: I didn't know which point to end the chapter, so I just made it longer than usual. I really hope you guys like it, cause I'm just never satisfied with whatever I write. I wrote like 4 other versions of this chapter, but they were all relatively the same, just a few different minor details. This chapter is essentially my version of the episodes "No Brakes" and "Breach". No team CFVY or Sun and Neptune showing up, because let's face it, that's last part was just a character showcase that could have been just as good, if not better, if they hadn't been showcased. Just so you guys know, I do read every review that gets posted on this story, and I do love reading them, so don't stop reviewing. :D**

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><p>'She's trained for combat, very talented, smart and graceful, I wish I could hear her sing right now,' his words rang in her head all morning. She fought distracted, glancing at the knight as often as she could admiring how strong he'd gotten. Weiss missed her strike and the target countered, knocking her back. Two others had come in for the kill; she flinched and closed her eyes in fear of the strikes that didn't come.<p>

"Weiss, what the hell are you doing?!" she opened her eyes to see Jaune glowing white, decapitating the two ursa who had come to finish her off. "If you're gonna keep fighting like that, you're gonna die," Weiss noticed the coldness in his voice. Blushing as she picked up Myrtenaster, she continued on her way, following her place in their teams' strategy.

As Pyrrha took a step forward to strike a beowolf that had gotten too close, the ground under her, Ruby and Nora caved in. Witnessing the event, Pluto had to act hastily, "Everyone, fall back."

"Ash!" Jaune called to his companion. Nodding in response, he focused on channeling his aura and let out a roar. The remaining grimm turned and whimpered away in fear. Jaune pulled out a piece of dried meat to throw to the snow leopard, "Good job, boy, you earned it."

The rest of the team gathered at the edge of the large hole that Pluto stood by. "The ground caved in around your friends," he explained, "I had my orders to just clear out this area, but I'm changing it. We're going down there to find them, there's no way I can go back to Vale to report I lost three students. Um, where is your other leader and your pets?" The answer to the huntsman's question came in the form of a bark from the hole, "God damnit, you kids are past weird." Just like jumping out of the airship, the group jumped into the hole one by one following their supervising adult.

Jaune hit the ground running, quite literally. After hitting the ground and creating another small crater in the same fashion as the day before, he deactivated his semblance and put the two animals down. "Alright, Zwei, can you find Pyrrha from here?" he bent down to let the dog sniff a piece of the Amazonian's sash that had ripped off earlier. He stood and watched the dog sniff the air and bark in the direction of the scent.

Pyrrha awoke to the darkness of her blindfold; she reached with her hand to remove it, only to find her limbs had been bound behind her. "Ruby, Nora? Are you two okay?" she silently called out to them.

"Yeah, we're okay, but I can't see," Nora called out, about a few feet to the left of where Pyrrha lay.

"I'm blindfolded too, Nora, and It seems our weapons were taken from us," Ruby speculated as she reached for Crescent Rose to no avail.

"Hello ladies- oof," Roman entered the room, only to be kicked in the face by Pyrrha, still blindfolded. Getting up, he knocked her over, "Aren't we feisty?"

"So what is the White fang doing down here?" Ruby stalled, rubbing her rope binds against a sharp rock she found.

"Well, I might as well tell you, since you're here until the grimm come and find you," he twirled his cane, "but monologue ain't my thing."

"You could gloat," Nora suggested, "I think that's what villains and criminals do."

"Yeah, but that's so cliché," the criminal argued, "it's kinda stupid if you ask me, I mean, why reveal your evil plan and expose the ways to foil your own plot?"

"But what's the point of it if you can't brag a little?" Nora coaxed a little more.

"Boss, there's some kid out here," a voice over his radio came on.

Picking it up, he angrily spoke into it, "Then take care of it, it's a damn kid isn't it?"

"Oh my God, he's got animals. Save me boss," a pained, girlish scream from the manly voice that previously spoke.

"If you need something done, you need to do it yourself," he grumbled as he kicked open the door and pointed his cane out, only to get a shield to the face. As he stumbled backwards, what looked like a small bear to him lunged at his foot to pick him up and swung him around. As soon as he had the chance, the blonde boy took the scabbard form of his shield and swung it firmly to the back of his victim's head, knocking him out cold.

"You girls didn't need any help, did you?" Jaune asked as he entered the room.

"Aw, Jaune, you ruined it," Ruby threw her hands up in frustration then removing the blindfold, "he was about to tell us his plans, and I was going to punch him after he told us." Ruby pouted as she retrieved Crescent Rose from the table nearby.

"But you're all okay, right?" he prodded some more, "No weird perverted touching, right?"

"Hmm, I wonder what Ren would do if I told him otherwise?" Nora pondered, wanting to tease her childhood friend.

"No time, we gotta stop the train from leaving this base," he ordered.

"How do you know all this?" Pyrrha asked.

"Because there's a train outside, and I've seen enough cheesy movies, that thing means something bad for Vale," Jaune raised his sword to cut his teammates free from the rope. Exiting the room they were held in, they rejoined the rest of the group onboard the already moving train.

"Pluto, where does this train go to?" Jaune urgently asked their supervising huntsman.

"Nowhere, it's a dead end. This railroad was originally used to escape back into Vale, but it was sealed off as soon as the last train made it back," he explained in confusion. The device in the middle of the room started counting down.

"Move!" Yang yelled, punching the door to the next car open. Everyone evacuated and watched as the car detached and exploded, punching a hole in the tunnel and allowing grimm to enter the tunnel.

"We better keep moving, guys, I have a feeling this train is on a one way trip," Ren spoke up as they all felt the train car detach. The group ran across the tops of the train cars as each detached until the last few remained. Climbing into the car below, they were met with a girl with pink and brown hair whose smile looked like it craved a fight.

"This one's mine, you guys go on ahead," Yang's eyes turned red as she stepped forward.

"Oh no you don't, everyone, ready your weapons," Jaune held the brawler back as he commanded everyone else. With weapons raised and guns pointed, the ice cream themed girl made a tactical retreat, teleporting away from an inevitable defeat. The group fought their way to the front car, destroying any and all equipment, mech, and anything that moved only to find a set of ruined controls. "There's no way to stop it," the young leader thought out loud in realization. The team worked frantically on the controls, trying to find some button or set of controls that worked, but to no avail.

Looking up he saw the quickly approaching wall that separated the failed expansion to the inner city. Looking behind the train, a group of black creatures followed the train. There's no way to stop the train, the only option they had was to defend the city. "Everyone, gather around me," acting quickly, he used his remaining aura to boost his semblance and encasing the entire group in a thin barrier before the train hit the wall.

Losing consciousness for a minute from the impact, he was woken by Ash licking his face. He quickly got up to assess the damage done. There was a hole in the middle of the street, big enough for several king taijitu to slither through at once. There were several flames from the bomb hidden in that front car and he expected the grimm to start pouring out any second. "Okay, here's the plan," he instructed to his waiting teammates, "When you start seeing bone covered heads, shoot it. If they get past fifty meters of the hole I want anyone, I don't care who, just take it down. I'll be within ten meters of the hole with Pluto, don't worry about accidentally shooting me, just watch out for Pluto. I don't want to see any grimm outside a one-hundred meter-radius of the hole. Any questions?"

"Yeah-,"

"No time for questions, Nora, cause I hear them coming. Just go nuts, do what you have to keep the citizens safe" he cut her off. Activating his semblance, causing him to glow a bright white as he charged the first grim with Ash at his side.

"You got some nerve ordering me around, kid," The huntsman gave a stern look at the young leader.

"I don't care what you think," Jaune said as he hacked and slashed at each oncoming enemy, "we have a duty to protect these people, and if you can't do it because of your pride, then you don't have the right to call yourself a huntsman."

At that, the black clad huntsman shut up and continued fighting off the hordes. Throwing one of his scimitars, embedding it into an ursa, he ran to retrieve it, slicing any enemy in the way. Finally grasping the hilt of his weapon again, he forced it out through the enemy's side, into the side of another. Watching his dual wielding scimitars was like watching a tornado of knives rip through the battlefield, beautiful, but deadly.

Yang stayed relatively close to the carnage, punching nearly everything that moved. She sent bullets and bodies flying in every direction. Any grimm that came too close to her hair was either smashed into the ground or flying. At some point she took enough hits to go into hyper mode, with hair flaming, the amount of exploding punches were too much to count.

Ren rarely used his bullets, but relied mostly on his training in martial arts. He sped through the battlefield with grace and finesse, taking down the creatures of darkness with carefully placed punches and kicks. Only when surrounded did he take his weapons out of his sleeves, turning grimm into disintegrating corpses faster than Jaune could ever hope to achieve.

Nora had just gone crazy. Starting out with firing grenade rounds into the hole, it had evolved into sending corpses flying in all different directions with her dust powered hammer. Laughing maniacally, she played an altered game of croquet with a balled up boarbatusk, knocking the speeding creature against other enemies before smashing it into the ground.

Pyrrha, Ruby, Blake and Weiss stood at four points of at the edge of the circle, shooting down bird formed grimm and slicing whatever black, bony creature that tried to get more than one hundred meters from the hole. A mountain of used rounds and magazines had formed around Ruby's feet, which she didn't mind; this is what she prepared for. Weiss emptied her cartridge of ice dust while circling the perimeter erecting a massive wall of ice to prevent grimm from escaping into the city, while the others picked off the ones that made it to the edge of ice.

Jaune was lit up like a Christmas tree near the center of it all, extending his semblance to the animals that accompanied him, Zwei and Ash. Channeling his aura through his sword, Jaune sent multiple waves of energy to push back grimm into the hole and decapitating the ones that climbed out, while Zwei and Ash tore apart the ones that escaped Jaune's wrath. Ash put his aura to good use, effectively extending the range of his still short claws. The severed limbs and various body parts of the bone covered creatures soon became playthings for Zwei.

The battle ended when the staff of Beacon Academy, with the exception of Ozpin, and the military joined the fight. Professor Port and Oobleck sent multiple fireballs, incinerating any creature in their line of fire. Mechanized soldiers rained from the sky, eliminating any grimm in sight. Glynda Goodwitch calmly showed up, waving her crop causing bodies of darkness to fly out of her way. Getting to the scene of the destruction, she used her power to pick up the pieces and put the street and blockade back together, ending the flow of grimm.

After the last creature of darkness had fallen, Jaune sighed in relief. He looked ahead towards Pyrrha, but began to see stars in his vision. His vision and consciousness began to fail him as he collapsed, watching his comrades rush towards him.

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><p>The orange haired criminal woke to see his base of operations destroyed, the White Fang agents unconscious and the train gone to do its job. He chuckled and mentally crossed off the event on his list. "Today was our victory," he saw the woman in red walk into the room, "those kids may have stopped the grimm, but Vale is breakable , maybe not through the same place, but its defenses can be broken."<p>

They walked to the warehouse not far from his "office". Switching on the lights revealed thousands upon thousands of mech suits ready to be piloted. She laughed as the patterns of her dress lit up, the rest of the agents waking up from the effects of the assaults. "A storm is coming, Vale," she spoke, "Are you ready?"


	9. Chapter 9

**Author's note: For those of you who don't understand Jaune is suffering from depression and anxiety. He's lashing out in blind rage, frustrated with himself. Out of experience, my own depression and anxiety has led to picking fights with bigger people.**

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><p>Jaune awoke in a hospital bed. The moonlight shone through window, illuminating the small vase of wilting flowers. He noticed his belongings in his backpack in the corner of the room and Ash resting next to the bed. Examining the table near the window, he found various pictures and "get well" cards. One picture of Neptune and Weiss caused a sharp pain in his chest. Retrieving the bag, he pulled out some dried meat and set it down a generous pile for the when leopard cub wakes up. Stroking the soft fur while he slept, Jaune whispered, "Good boy."<p>

Picking up Crocea Mors and his pants, he headed to the roof. Taking in the cold air of the night, he removed the hospital gown and slipped on clean underwear and his pants. Unsheathing the blade and setting down the scabbard, he began to put his restless muscles to work, jumping and slashing the empty air. Ducking and rolling, as if dodging an enemy's strike, he shot up behind his imaginary enemy in a twirl, quickly slicing the figment of his imagination in half. In frustration, he threw his blade, embedding it into door that separated the stairs from the roof.

"It's not good enough," he scolded himself as he retrieved his sword. He grew in his frustration as he practiced his swordplay more. Daybreak was a long time from when he started, but it didn't stop him.

"Jaune?" Pyrrha had to quickly raise her shield to block the flying blade.

"Oh, it's you," her shirtless leader said coldly at her appearance. Retrieving his blade, he caught her off guard by crashing his shield into her side, "Your stance is weak."

"Jaune, I do not wish to do this," she pleaded as she defended herself from his blade, "you just woke up and I don't want to hurt you." She was met with silence and another strike from his blade which she parried with her spear, "Jaune, please."

Still Jaune gave no answer besides his carefully placed strikes from his sword. Pyrrha was forced to fight back as she stepped forward, only to find thin air. Looking around she saw that her leader was nowhere to be found. Instinctively, she lunged forward, barely dodging the blow as he came crashing down, sword first. Rolling towards her, he swiped at her legs, forcing her to jump. Using the momentum of his missed attack, he twirled around allowing for a shield bash with his other arm while she was still in mid-air. "You have to fight back if you're going to stop me," he sadistically uttered, "and make it hurt."

Lifting herself up, she raised Milo in its shotgun form. "Jaune, what's wrong?" she hesitantly brought it to her face to aim it at her beloved friend, "Please, I don't want to hurt you."

"Go ahead, I'm done living," he murmured as he slowly walked towards her. With his sword raised, he discarded his shield, ready to strike once more. He brought down his sword, forcing her to move out of the way.

Ducking, rolling and getting behind her opponent, she shot the dust round point blank. With a tear in her eyes, she whispered, "I'm sorry," as Jaune lost consciousness once again.

Jaune woke with a start to see his partner at the side of his hospital bed. Looking down in shame, unable to meet her eyes he finally spoke, "I'm sorry. I attacked you out of frustration and nearly..."

"You know I'll forgive you anyway," she took his hand for comfort; "I just want to know why?"

"You told me that I wouldn't get it wrong if it was the truth," he started, "what if my feelings are wrong? What if I'm just meant to be alone? I didn't mean to lash out like that. I just… I don't know what I would have done if that fight went on."

"Jaune, it's okay, you couldn't kill me if you tried. And if Weiss can't see just how wonderful you are," she rested a palm on his face, "I believe the saying is she's just as blind as a bat."

"Thanks Pyrrha," he smiled. "You should get to class, it's getting pretty late. Please bring Ash with you, he needs exercise back at the school."

"I'll bring your homework by later," the redhead reluctantly stood up and left the hospital room, leading the snow leopard cub out of the room.

As soon as she left, he finally let the sadness flow from his eyes. "I don't deserve your words, Pyrrha," he silently sobbed to himself, "your kindness, your friendship, all of it, I don't deserve any of it. I shouldn't have woken up."

**We go to the same school, and she lives across the hall, but we're still worlds apart. Sure, I have people who call me "friend" but they can never understand what it's like. I'm surrounded by amazing fighters, people who've had years of training under their belts. I've never been in such a place with so many people yet felt so alone…**

"Hey, what are you reading, Ruby?" Yang asked her younger sister.

"Hmm, I don't know," she said looking up from the small black book, "I found it in the library, seems like someone wrote their thoughts in it. It's pretty depressing though."

"Let me see," she picked up the book and quickly skimmed through the pages. Her eyes widened after a few seconds, letting out a small gasp. "I don't think we should be reading this, Rubes. You'd be surprised about who wrote it," Yang put the book down.

"That's weird, coming from you, Yang. I mean _you _telling me _not _to violate someone's privacy," the young leader smiled as she read further.

**Tomorrow we're about to embark on our first mission. We've chosen as a group to take this search and destroy mission with team RWBY. This mission is to take on hordes of the creatures of grimm, their mission in mind is to somehow investigate the White Fang. In light of the events of the past few weeks, and what had just transpired earlier, I'm hoping to for this mission to end my lowly existence.**

**In the last few months, I've grown fond of the one her friends call "the ice queen". Oh who am I kidding, I've fallen and I've fallen hard. Sadly my feelings aren't returned. Despite my many attempts in asking for a date, through different means like singing, and elaborate schemes, I decided to take Pyrrha's advice. I went to her before preparing for this mission, heart in hand, asking as sincerely as possible. I didn't want dinner, I didn't want some stupid, fancy thing, I just wanted a chance to get to know her better, I wanted to know who Weiss Schnee is.**

**I've come to realize something out of my rejection. My life is just as disposable as the dust she uses. I'm only a tool for others, to be used and then thrown away when worn out. There's always going to be someone to replace me as leader. There's always going to be someone else who holds her heart. There's nothing special about me, I'm not good at fighting and I never will be, and I'm never going to be good enough for her. If I can at least die fighting, no one has to take the blame for my death.**

"That explains a lot," Ruby said quietly as she put the small journal down. "How could I not realize his depression?!" she questioned herself, tears now forming, "I even talked to him the night before the train incident, how could I have been so stupid to let him fight like that? He even told us he was fighting to die, and I just ignored it!"

"The doctors said that he'll be fine," Yang pulled her younger sister into a hug. "It's been a week, so he should be waking up soon. We should go see if he's up tomorrow."

"I'm a terrible friend, Yang," Ruby cried into her sister's chest.

"We all are," Yang said in a comforting voice.


	10. Chapter 10

**Author's note: So I want to do a pairing, but I don't want it right away. I thought I'd lay everyone's emotions on the table before I put it all off until later. XP**

**Anyway, there's a poll on my profile, I'll decide a pairing based on that and on what I feel like when I develop the story a little more. I just love reading reviews, it lets me know what you people think, so yeah, reviews are a thing.**

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><p>"Morning Jaune," he woke to find the small girl poking her head in through the doorframe, "good to see you're awake."<p>

"Good to be awake, I guess," he tried his best to fake a chuckle and laugh.

"I, uh, found your book," Ruby brought out her hands from behind her back to reveal the small journal, "I might have accidentally read some of it."

"Oh…" he murmured, not knowing what to say or how to feel.

She came closer to hug the boy. After several minutes he could feel the wetness on his clothes where her eyes met his body. "I'm sorry," she whispered, "I should have noticed earlier. Maybe I did notice, but I didn't want to believe it."

"No, Ruby, I don't-," he was cut off by her hand over his mouth.

"Shh," she hushed him, pulling herself onto his lap, "I'm trying to have a moment here." She held onto him tightly while they waited patiently for her tears to stop. "It's stupid, I'm the only one out of all of us that would cry for you," she broke the silence. "Weiss is the one you love, but she's too stupid to see what she's pushing away, and it's unfair to you and me and her and Pyrrha because I feel this way…"

"Ruby, you…?" he started, but trailed off as he realized what he'd overlooked.

"I love you Jaune," she quietly admitted as the shade of red seemed to crawl across her face, "but I'm just the younger sister, that's all everyone would see me as. For the longest time I wish you'd see me as more than just a friend, or a younger sister, but you'd always ignore me when Weiss was around."

"Ruby, I don't know what to say…" he said, not wanting to disappoint her.

"Then don't say anything you don't mean," She smiled as she got up to leave, "take as much time as you need. I'm a couple years younger; I have time to wait for love."

Jaune stared at the wall in confusion, had he been that oblivious to how others felt? The day passed quickly, the nurses came in occasionally to assess his condition, telling him it was his last night at the facilities. It would be a few hours until he saw her bright red hair enter the room. "I brought your homework, and Ash," she smiled as she watched the cub jump into his lap, "he was restless last night, so I thought he'd want to come see you again."

"Thanks," he said, setting the small stack of papers into the small table. "Look, I'm sorry about yesterday, I just…"

"I said that it's fine, Jaune," the redhead pulled him into a tight hug, "I said I'll forgive you anyway."

"But why?!" he said, on the verge of tears, "I attacked you and tried to force you to kill me… I don't deserve any of your time."

"I forgive you because I love you," she said, pulling away to look into his eyes, "I've stood by your side since initiation, and I found that you were kind, nice and wanted to be my friend. Most men that have approached me saw me as an object, a trophy, but you saw more than that. You can call it cheesy, but I couldn't help falling for the guy who would go out of his way to make a fool of himself just to cheer someone up."

"Pyrrha, I don't deserve your kindness or your love," he averted his focus away from her eyes, "I'm brash, irrational, impulsive and it causes me to make stupid decisions. When I was rejected by Weiss, I put myself into a suicidal rampage on that mission."

"I don't care," She said, leaning in to gently place a kiss on his cheek. "You don't have to tell me how you feel right now. I just thought that you should know," she abruptly stood up and left Jaune to his thoughts.

"I heard what you really thought of me," Jaune woke to see the white-haired princess in the seat next to the hospital bed. The orange light of the sunset shone beautifully on her pale complexion. He was unaware that he had fallen asleep.

"Why are you here?" He sat up. Weiss could feel the ice in his words.

"Well, I heard Ash was here," she looked down to find the cub playing with the toy that she waved around, "and I wanted to thank you for what you did for me. I never did thank you for saving me twice. So, thanks, what you said and what you did were sweet."

"If that's all, you can leave," he pointed at the door without even as much as a glance.

"I'm sorry," she dropped the toy. "I didn't realize you would go so far for me, even after I told you all those things," she said, presenting the source of the pain in her chest.

"So that's it?" he said as he finally made eye contact, "You're just here so you don't have to feel guilty?! I didn't have to save you; I could have left you to die both times. But you know what the kicker is?!"

He paused for her to look up at him, reluctant to answer, "What is it?"

"I would have done it anyway!" he exclaimed in mock laughter, "I must be some sort of masochist. I already knew you would never love me, yet I still tried to ask for a date. I could have let you die, gotten over you and moved on, yet you're still here and my pain continues."

"Please, don't say that, why can't you just smile like you always do?" she quietly uttered, too shocked by the hurt in his words. Here was the lovable knight that everyone had grown fond of, the one who was always smiling, even when he was hurt, the one who would always break a melancholic mood with laughter. The one who had accepted who she was, even after when he knew who her family was and her background as an heiress; he still wanted to get to know her. It was true that she felt guilt for rejecting him, but she couldn't bear to see the pain on his face.

"Why can't I just smile?!" the anger welled up inside, "even after all this, you're still being this selfish? What's wrong can't stand feeling guilty?"

"I want to get to know the man who loved me," she screamed. Softening her voice, she spoke again, "I just want to understand why you love me, and why I feel like I'm starting to feel the same. I want to know what it is about you that makes me feel pain to see you hurt."

"Because you feel guilty," he retorted.

"No, that's not what I mean," she said, getting up and sitting at the edge of the bed. "I overheard you and Ruby talking that night before the train crash…" she admitted, grasping his hand, "I heard what you said about me. About how you think I'm graceful, talented and smart."

"I can't help complimenting perfection," he added.

"See, that's what I mean," she said. The sunlight hid her blush, "Growing up, I was expected to grow up a certain way. I craved perfection, but I always thought I wasn't and because of that I couldn't help but push even my teammates away."

"No one's perfect, Weiss," the cliché came to mind as he smiled and left it at that.

"Is that offer to get coffee with you still up?" she sheepishly asked as she played with his fingertips.

"I don't know, Weiss," he sighed, "I've been thinking since I've woken up."

"Just let me know when you've decided," she hugged him goodbye before she left.


	11. Chapter 11

The pair laughed lightly as they sipped their coffee outside the small coffee shop in town. "I just don't understand modern fashion," Jaune said as he held up the magazine, pointing out the cover, "I mean, come on, this looks freakish."

"Common people like you just don't understand the sophistication of beauty and fashion," Weiss held her nose high, trying her best to stifle her laughter.

"Yes, because being a huntsman we have to look fabulous as we swing around deadly weapons and cut down creatures of darkness," he answered in the best girly voice he could do, "Oh good lord, I have to pause for a bit because my hair fell out of place, excuse me while I reshape it into a giant pair of lips."

The remark earned a giggle from the heiress, covering her mouth as she almost sprayed coffee all over her date. "So what do you do in your free time," she said after the fit of laughter had passed, "you know, when you're not asking me out on a date?"

"We go to a school meant to train huntsman and huntresses," he reminded her, "When I'm not in class or doing homework, I'm busy having my ass handed to me by a giant kitten."

"What about when you're not training?" she asked.

"Read, I guess," he shrugged as he took another sip of his coffee, "I like cats, so I spend a lot of time playing with Ash. Sometimes I'll get lucky and get to hear you sing in the morning."

"But I thought no one was awake," she tried to hide her blush with her hands.

"What's wrong with your singing?" Jaune said as he gingerly moved her hands to reveal her face, "It's an amazing way to wake up in the morning."

"N-nothing, it's just I-I've never sang for anyone," Weiss let her hands down, her face turning a brighter shade of red, "so when anyone compliments my singing I just never really believed them."

"Didn't you think that after getting so many compliments that you're actually good?" he questioned, "besides, your singing is what I look forward to, it's the one good thing before everyone wakes up."

"I can imagine," the heiress shuddered, "I mean remember the first time you let Nora have coffee?"

"Hey, that morning was fun," he defended his teammate, "besides, it's not as bad as that time Yang accidentally swallowed that ecstasy tablet."

"I thought we agreed to never mention that ever again," she blushed harder than before, covering her chest and looking around, as if expecting the blonde pervert to fall out of the sky.

"Hmmm, your face betrays your words of protest," Jaune teased, receiving a light punch in response.

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><p>Yang noticed the fort of blankets and pillows in the middle of the room. Investigating further, she found her sister curled into a ball and still in her pajamas. "What's wrong, Ruby?" she asked as she crawled into the lightly fortified pile of pillows, "Is it about Jaune?"<p>

"Yeah," she admitted as she moved to make room, "I just thought…"

"That he'd get over Weiss and fall for you instantly after you told him?" the blonde finished for her sister.

"I thought he was tired of being hurt so much," she whimpered, "I just wanted to make him happy."

"They're both your friends, right?"

"Yeah."

"Then you should be happy for both of them," Ruby's face indicated that wasn't what she wanted to hear. Wrapping her arms around the smaller girl to console her, she added, "Besides, you're super adorable, your perfect man will come for you when you're ready."

"You're right," she smiled lightly, still hoping it still would be the boy she initially fell for.

"Alright," she jumped up, causing the pillows to fall over, "we should get this place cleaned up, I'm pretty sure neither of us are in the mood to hear Weiss's bitching."

"What was that about me bitching?!" her voice could be heard not far down the hallway.

"And that's my cue to leave," the blonde teen said as she exited through the window.

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><p>Ash nimbly jumped about, playfully dodging the boarbatusk's charges. To the snow leopard cub, the creature was nothing more than a play thing. Swiping the grimm's face as it got close, it became apparent that the large kitten was purposefully provoking the creature. Finally growing bored of the repetitive motions, the large cub sunk its teeth into the defenseless underside and flailed it around like a chew toy.<p>

While his companion was toying with grimm in the corner, the rest of the room was occupied by Pyrrha and Jaune as they trained. The countless grazes from her blade was starting to add up, his armor that covered his upper body was stained with blood, as he breathed heavily. In contrast, any cut that Jaune managed to land on his training partner was healed in a matter of seconds. "Jaune, are you sure you can continue?" she asked out of concern.

"I've never felt better," he said as he leaned on his blade for support, "I just need more practice."

"Why aren't you using your semblance or at least your aura to heal yourself?" she asked, strapping her equipment to her back.

"I can't just rely on them all the time," he lied.

"Fine," she said suspiciously. She pulled the first aid kit from its place on the wall, "Here, let me patch you up."

"You should really be careful, Jaune," she scolded as she applied the disinfectant that stung more than the blade, "fighting without using at least your aura could get you killed during training."

"It just tells me that I need more practice," he stood up as soon as the bandages were finished being applied to his wounds.

"Just don't do anything stupid," Pyrrha reminded as he went to retrieve the leopard cub.

"Come on, Pyrrha," he turned to give a reassuring smile, "stupid seems to always find me."

As soon as it was him and Ash, Jaune fruitlessly attempted to activate his aura again. He watched his aura flicker around his hands as he concentrated, only to have it go out like a light bulb. After several attempts, he punched the wall in frustration, drawing blood from his knuckles. "What the hell," he muttered quietly, "I was just able to use it so easily two weeks ago." Giving up on his attempts, he continued on his way

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><p><strong>Author's note: So many things going on in my brain, I'm surprised that I still update daily. Despite all the protests I might get, the confusion will not end until I say it does.<strong>


	12. Chapter 12

**Author's note: Does anyone else see Ozpin as a sadist? I mean he launches students off a cliff, expecting them to not turn into a mangled mess of flesh. I did have a different chapter for chapter 12, but I decided that it was a bit out of place and too smutty for this story so I decided to make it a oneshot, it's called "Keep Me By Your Side" and you peoples should be able to see it on my profile.**

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><p>Jaune sat in the training hall, once again, attempting to activate his aura. Concentrating on trying to heal himself, he watched as the white light that encased his hands began to flicker before going out. Growing more frustrated with each attempt, he blindly threw a punch at a pillar. "Ow, hey," the pillar seemed to talk, but the monkey tail meant otherwise, "I know I can be annoying, but I'm pretty sure it's too early for me to get hurt for being stupid."<p>

"Sorry, Sun, I didn't see you hanging around," Jaune chuckled at his poorly placed pun, "I'm serious though, I didn't mean to punch."

"So what's up?" the two sat down at an empty bench, "Why so violent this early?"

"I've been having trouble with using aura since that giant fight in the middle of town," Jaune paused to sigh, "During the fight I was able to fight and hold off hordes using my semblance, now I can't even heal a simple cut."

"Well, I'm not an expert with aura or anything," Sun brought his hand to his chin, "but I was taught that aura is an extension of your soul, so I'm gonna guess that it has something to do with emotions or motivation, something like that. I'd talk to a teacher or someone about it."

"Thanks anyway, Sun," Jaune sighed, hanging his head in defeat.

"Let me know when you figure out how to use your semblance again, sparring with you sounds like it would be fun," the monkey faunus said before hopping off, leaving the knight to his thoughts.

Jaune entered a training room to release his frustration, activating as much training bots as his student ID would allow him to. While the armed robots came to life, he spent that time releasing Ash from his restraints and raising his sword and shield. Realizing that he didn't need his equipment, Jaune put them away before reducing the first bot to a mangled mess with his bare hands. Tearing off a Gatling gun, ammunition and all, he proceeded to use it to his advantage.

With the amount of training they gone through recently, the bots fell with minimal effort from the pair. With seemingly nothing left to do, Jaune used a robotic arm to play tug of war with the cub. "It seems something troubles you at the moment," Ozpin eyed the mess of scrap metal.

"I wonder what gave that away," Jaune answered, "was it beating a bot with its own leg?"

"So what's got you so worked up and frustrated?" the headmaster asked, ignoring his student's sarcastic answer.

"I've been having trouble using my aura and semblance," Jaune sighed, "would it have something to do with using my semblance too much?"

"From what has been recorded, you'd only feel exhaustion from overusing your semblance," Ozpin recounted while he adjusted his glasses, "but your friend wasn't wrong. A hunter's ability to access their aura and semblance is connected to emotion and training."

"So I just need to train?" he asked, unconsciously loosening his grip for Ash to tear the robotic limb from his hand.

"Not quite, but I might have an idea to restore your ability to access both your aura and semblance," the devilish smirk seemed to look unsettlingly natural on his face. "You're not going to like it."

"Whatever training you have in mind, it can't be that bad," Jaune shrugged.

"If you say so," Ozpin said as he started towards his office, "but know that you asked for this, so don't complain about what you're met with. I'll see you at the arena at six later tonight, don't be late."

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><p>"You wanted to see us, professor Ozpin?" Pyrrha cautiously stepped into the office with Ruby at her side.<p>

"Yes, please come in and close the door behind you," Ozpin's appearance was hidden by his chair being turned towards the two, "I noticed your friend has been having trouble with using his aura lately, and I'd like to ask your help."

"He just needs more training, he told us it's nothing to worry about," Pyrrha argued.

"Don't you find it strange?" Ozpin answered, "He was able to fight at the forefront of a battlefield and held back hordes of those God forsaken creatures, but now can't defend himself properly while training?"

"Now that you mention it, his cuts have been taking pretty long to heal, and he does have a barrier semblance," Ruby pondered.

"Precisely, aura can be blocked by a great deal of emotional distress," Ozpin explained, "has he been acting differently? Loss of appetite, irritable, aggressive, or fighting with reckless abandon?"

"Now that you mention it, he did say something about asking to die while we were on our first mission," Pyrrha said, "and he did attack me out of frustration when the morning he woke up."

"But he's looked so happy with Weiss since they started dating," Ruby frowned at the reminder.

"Depression isn't so difficult to hide," Ozpin finally turned his chair to face his students, "Although his abilities are locked by his depression, I might have an idea to help him, but I do need help from the both of you girls."

Ruby and Pyrrha exchanged looks, both determined to help the boy they've fallen for. "Of course we'll help," Ruby answered for both of them.

"That's great," he calmly said, pressing a suspicious button on his desk and pulling on a gas mask, "I just need both of you unconscious for now."

The room filled with gas and the two teenage girls panicked. Pyrrha instantly went to the door in an attempt to break it open while Ruby went to the desk to find a way to turn it off. Ozpin watched the two in their disparity, amused by the sight. The pair finally collapsed while a vacuum automatically turned on to empty the room of the gas.

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><p>"Hello?" Jaune called as he entered the dark arena, "Ozpin? I'm ready for training."<p>

"I didn't exactly say that this was training," Ozpin announced over the speakers. The lights turned on to reveal Ruby and Pyrrha on opposite ends of the arena struggling against the restraints on their hands and feet, "I simply said I had an idea to unlock your aura and semblance."

"Ozpin, what the hell is going on?!" Jaune yelled, unsheathing his sword.

"I'm giving you a bit of motivation," Ozpin answered while a hole in the floor opened up to allow hordes of black creatures to pour out, "the objective is simple: free the girls before they're killed."

"What the fuck?!" the knight launched himself at the first few grimm that crawled out of the hole with Ash right behind him, "You're a fucking sadist."

"Well I do try," Ozpin chuckled, "I'll check back in thirty minutes, I wouldn't want my dinner to get cold."


	13. Chapter 13

**Author's note: All work and no sleep makes ****** a dull boy. I really wish school didn't require so much tedious work, it really takes away from my sleep and I really like my sleep. At any rate, I managed to make a slightly longer chapter, despite not having the time, energy or motivation to write. Enjoy the chapter and post reviews, I never seem to be satisfied with my work so I enjoy reading feedback, I actually like it when people get really critical.**

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><p>"Shit!" Jaune swore out loud as the first claw grazed his arm. "Ash, defend Ruby."<p>

The snow leopard cub obeyed, blindsiding the grimm that was furthest from the hole. Tearing off a bony spike from its corpse, Ash used it to impale the next oncoming beowolf. Flaring his aura, he created sharp extensions from his front paws and a bludgeon at the tip of his tail.

Jaune made his way to Pyrrha, cutting down any creature that got in his way. Reaching her side, he began hacking at the chains that held her to the ground. 'I need to save them,' was all he could think as he struck the chains in vain.

He used his body to shield the defenseless girl from the blows of the ursa. He struck it once, then again and again. None of it made a difference, there's no scratch on the chains, no bent or broken links, nothing. His body was struck from the side, sending him flying out of the way like a ragdoll. Unable to move from the pain, he saw behind the large creature, the hordes were closing in.

"Ash!" Jaune watched as the gray cub was knocked out of the way in the same fashion. "No, I can't do this," he quietly muttered on the verge of tears, "I can't protect them… I'm a failure."

"Nope," Jaune looked up to see his fellow leader in her pajamas. Jaune remembered this, but why this memory?

"Nope?" he asked in confusion.

"You're a leader now Jaune," she said, attempting to encourage the knight, "you're not allowed to be a failure."

"But what if I'm a failure at being a leader?" he asked, slumped against the wall.

"Hmmm, nope," she answered after pretending to think.

"You know, you're not the easiest person to talk to about this kind of stuff," he reminded as she took a seat right next to him.

"Nope," she smiled as he leaned his head back against the wall in defeat. "Jaune, maybe you were a failure when you were a kid," Jaune slid lower at the reminder. "You might have even been a failure the first day we met," he slid lower at the, yet again, painful truth, "but you can't be one now, you know why?"

"Uuuhh, because?" Jaune looked at the petite girl for the answer.

"Because it's not just about you anymore," she pointed at him accusingly, "you've got a team now, Jaune, we both do, and if we fail, we'll just be bringing them down with us. We have to put our teammates first and ourselves second," she stood up as she delivered her last piece of advice, "your team deserves a great leader, Jaune."

"Jaune, everyone needs a little push from time to time," he looked up to see his teammates emerald eyes, illuminated by the moonlight. The scene changed back to that night on the rooftop, "you made it to Beacon, that speaks volumes of what you're capable of."

"You're wrong," he turned around, his guilt prevented him to look at her eyes any longer, "I don't belong here."

"Of course, you obviously don't belong," he heard a deep voice before feeling a hand firmly grasp his shoulder and turn him around. Looking around the scene had once again changed, but to the morning he left home, "Son, we Arcs never had a place to belong."

"Thanks dad, that's very assuring," Jaune looked down at the ground in shame.

"Look at me, Jaune," he reluctantly looked at his father's face, "none of us are born with a place to belong to. But we all found what's important to us, and we draw power from that."

"I don't understand."

The much older man unstrapped the sword that hung from his belt. "You don't belong at Beacon, that doesn't mean you can't earn your place," Jaune looked at the weapon that was presented to him, "find what's important to you and protect them with your life."

The memory ended, the landscape faded to white. White was all that he could see, stretched out over the horizon. "It seems you are at a crossroads," Jaune spun around to face an elderly man. His face was old and wrinkled, and his hair was gray but he was still tall and muscular which filled out his armor perfectly. He looked at the young knight and examined him before shaking his head, "They get here at a younger age every generation, such a shame."

"W-where am I?" Jaune started to panic, "Who are you, why am I here?"

"Like I said, you are at a crossroad, and as your ancestor, I've come to meet you," the elderly man answered, "this place exists between life and death. You, like your father a long time ago, are on the brink of death. By now you should be aware of your large stores of aura, correct?"

"Y-yeah," Jaune stuttered as he tried to process the situation.

"Here's how it works kid, you can move one to the afterlife, or you can use your aura to heal yourself an go back to the world of the living," a door like panel of darkness behind him appeared.

"But I can't use any of it," Jaune argued, "my semblance, not even my aura. I'll just end up dead anyway."

"Kid, you're an Arc," the man moved forward to place his hand on Jaune's shoulder, "you carry on my semblance, do you know what that means? Just remember your father's words; it's a saying that's passed down through the generations."

Jaune thought hard. Making his decision firm in his mind he smiled and walked into the uncertainty of the darkness. Yet again, the scenery in his vision changed, back to the horrid sight in front of him. Sliding his hands under him and pushing down, Jaune lifted himself off the ground with a smirk on his face. "I get it now, dad," Jaune felt a weight lift from his body, the pain of his injuries fading away, "so this is the power of our family, the reason why you, grandpa and his father were labeled as 'heroes'."

Jaune felt a surge of power course through him, a bright light coating his body, attracting the attention of all moving creatures in the room. "I wonder if it would work at this distance," Jaune thought out loud as he concentrated on Pyrrha and Ruby. To his amazement, the two captives started to dimly glow white. "Hey, all you God damned creatures," he brashly announced. Without another word, a large portion of grimm changed their direction towards the paladin in the middle of the room, while some fruitlessly attacked the shielded girls.

Retrieving his sword he readied himself for battle while his feline familiar assumed his position at Jaune's side. Standing firm, he advanced towards the hole in the middle of the arena, swinging his sword at any and every enemy in his way. Once again he shone a bright white, the light deflecting every attack that he didn't block. Standing at the edge of the hole, he looked for an emergency closing mechanism while Ash held enemies at bay. "Ozpin, how the fuck do I close this thing?!" he yelled with no answer. Jaune frantically looked around for another way, quickly scanning the room.

Jaune took a look at the magazine pouch at Ruby's belt and did the same for Pyrrha. Running to Ruby's side he checked to see if she was all right, "Ruby, I have an idea, but I need to know if you have extra dust rounds or extra dust."

"I should have a full magazine in my pouch," she blushed lightly realizing where he had to reach. She tried to hide her best to hide her reddening face as she felt his hand against her rear before grabbing the magazine out of the small bag.

"I'll be back, I just need to go blow up the arena," Jaune lightly joked as he ran in Pyrrha's direction.

After telling his teammate his idea she looked up at him in shock, "Jaune, that's stupid and dangerous, you could die!"

"That's what you said on the way to our first mission, and I'm still alive," he pointed out.

"I just don't want anything to happen to you," tears welled up in Pyrrha's eyes.

"I'll be fine," he reassured her as he retrieved the small bag from her hip, "besides, someone has to help Ren keep Nora from drinking coffee every morning."

Jaune returned to the hole where Ash sliced at enemies that tried to enter the arena, he set the items down and went to work. Jaune hastily tore off a large piece of his shirt and fashioned it into a fairly large bag. Working quickly he emptied what dust he could from the dust filled capsules into the cloth and tied it into a makeshift bomb and fuse. Pulling out a lighter, he lit the end of cloth, dropped the package into the opening. Looking over the edge to see grimm crawling out, his eyes widened at the sight of a large ball of fire quickly making its way up. Grabbing the leopard cub, Jaune hugged him tightly and turned his back towards the hole, shielding them both from the blast.

"Well done, Mister Arc," he heard the headmaster's voice announce over the speakers. The room whirred as the mechanisms closed the trapdoor and the bindings released the girls, "You did better than I expected."

"What the fuck is wrong with you?!" he screamed into the air again, "We could have died!"

"But you didn't. You know, your family harbors a very noble power," the silver haired man smiled, appearing in the front row of bleachers, "In the last war that Remnant has seen; there was a man who was considered a hero. He defended the west wall of Vale from the enemy kingdoms and grimm. He was severely injured and the rest of our unit was unconscious and close to death, yet none of his comrades died in that war."

"What does that have to do with me?" Jaune asked confused by the sudden war story.

"That man's name was Yves Arc," he smiled, "his comrades, his friends, were the most important thing in his life. He was a failure of a fighter, but he became an unstoppable destructive force during the war. It wasn't to destroy the enemy or out of hatred, but to protect his friends and his home. I knew you were the same."

"You knew my father?" Jaune managed to calm down a little.

"Yes, he was a good friend," Ozpin smiled at the feeling of nostalgia.

"Before I left home, my dad told me 'find what's important to you and protect them with your life,'" Jaune quoted.

The two redheads blushed at the statement, thinking of the significance they might hold in the knight's heart. "Are we really that important to you?" Ruby asked.

"Of course," he smiled at them both, "I know you'd do the same for me if the situation was reversed."

"Oh, y-yeah," Pyrrha answered, trying to mask the disappointment she felt, "of course we would."

"Well, it's getting pretty late," Ozpin announced whilst checking his watch. "I think we've had enough for today, I suggest you all get back to your dorms," he instructed before leaving the trio.

* * *

><p>Ruby closed the door to her dorm room behind her, only to be met with the worried faces of her teammates. "Ruby, you look terrible!" Weiss was the first to speak, "What happened?"<p>

"Oh, nothing, just some training with Jaune and Ash," she partially lied.

"Is he alright?" Weiss grabbed the younger girl's shoulders, showing a surprising display of concern for the boy in question, "You didn't beat him too bad, did you?"

'After how long of him chasing you, and only now you care about him?!' was what she wanted to scream, but only smiled. "No, he's actually gotten better at fighting."

"I swear, if his face is too bruised to-,"

"Yeah, yeah, whatever," Ruby interrupted, not wanting to hear the rest of the heiress's complaints, "I'm gonna take a shower."

Before anyone else could get another word out, the bathroom door was shut. Turning it as hot as possible, Ruby stepped into the falling stream of water. She hugged her legs as she felt the stinging heat against her skin. 'You still don't realize what you have, Weiss. Why couldn't it have been me?' she thought as she silently cried.

* * *

><p>Pyrrha tossed and turned in her bed, her thoughts did their best to keep her awake. Growing more and more restless, she got up and left the room. Walking in a zombie-like way, she roamed aimlessly through the halls of the school. "Pyrrha, I need to talk to you," she turned to face the source of the voice to find no one, but realized where she had wandered to. She watched her memory as if it were a holographic scene.<p>

"Oh, Jaune," she remembered herself turning around, "what did you need?"

She remembered the regretful look on his face perfectly, already knowing what he was going to say, "I should give you your answer. I know what it's like to be kept waiting with no answer," he averted his eyes to the ground.

"So what is it?" she forced her smile, still hoping that the answer isn't what she thought it would be.

"I'm sorry, I appreciate that you feel this way, but-,"

"No, I can't!" Pyrrha interrupted the scene, looking away. She leaned against the wall for support, "Why am I even here?"

"I know people might think I'm stupid for this," she continued to hear, "but how I feel about you hasn't changed, like how I feel about Weiss hasn't changed. I'm sorry."

Pyrrha found herself back in the dorm room. Feeling something crawl down her face, she touched her fingers to her cheek, pulling it away to see her fingertips wet with tears. Looking down, she found her sleeping leader. 'I'm fine, I just need… sleep…' her thoughts trailed off, not realizing his face coming closer to hers, entranced by his lips.


	14. Chapter 14

**Author's note: It's incredibly difficult to write when all you can think about is "I want real food, not soup!" Thank you wisdom teeth, for growing in the wrong way and requiring surgery so my jaw doesn't hurt like a bitch in the future. Anyway, hope you guys like how the story is going so far. Please leave reviews, feedback helps me write better chapters.**

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><p>Emerald's eyes widened as soon as she laid her eyes on it. The large black corpse chained to the top of the cave, still emanating an ominous presence, made anything that approached cower in fear. "Foolish human, what is it that you seek?" a raspy, metallic voice spoke in her head, "Or is it you desire to end your life early and become my sustenance?"<p>

"You're in no position to be bargaining with us, grimm," Cinder stepped forward.

"Do you know who you speak to?!" the voice came again, "I am Kane, first of the ancients to rise up out of darkness. I am much more powerful than you can ever imagine. I was worshipped as a god by you lowly creatures."

"Yes, you were and where are you now?" a deep voice came from behind the two women. "Like it or not, your freedom depends on your cooperation with us."

"Mercury's right," the green haired girl spoke up, "we are the key to the freedom you crave so much. All we ask of you is your cooperation, and you'll have the rest of eternity to do as you like."

"If you haven't heard, your brothers and sisters have all been killed, or sealed by us lowly humans," Cinder spoke with a devious grin. "You may be powerful on your own, but us humans outnumber you. Work with us, and we'll give you exactly what you want."

* * *

><p>"Hey, Pyrrha," the redhead looked up from her lunch to see Nora looking at her with concern, "you look like crap, are you getting sick?"<p>

"No, I just didn't get much sleep last night," she answered. Looking around at the rest of the group, she noticed the absence of one particular person, "Where's Jaune? He's not one to miss lunch."

"He's in the library," Ren answered, "not sure why, he usually hates studying."

"Did something happen between you two last night?" Yang asked out of curiosity, "It seems like you've been avoiding him all day."

"Something like that," Pyrrha frowned as she recounted the events of the night prior.

"Jaune," she softly spoke to herself. His face was just inches away from her face. If she snuck a kiss now, she would have what she want and he would be none the wiser. 'No!' coming to her senses, she scolded herself and pulled away, 'It's not right. I want his love, not his kiss.'

Pyrrha lay back down on her bed to get away from the alluring temptation of his lips. 'Argh, why Weiss?!' She mentally screamed, 'Why can't you see what's right by your side!'

"She's nothing short of amazing," she recalled his words. 'She's just a rich, spoiled and stuck-up brat who always got what she wants… and who she wants,' she thought to herself before drifting off to sleep.

* * *

><p>"Hey dad," Jaune spoke into his scroll.<p>

"Son!" his father exclaimed as he picked up the phone, "What can I do for you?"

"I met our ancestor yesterday," he somberly said, "what does that mean?"

"You mean the statue in front of beacon?" Yves asked nervously trying to avoid the topic, "That statue was of the first Arc, Beltran, in his early years, you know."

"You know what I mean, dad," Jaune scolded, "I met him in a dream, gave me a chance to go to the afterlife early. He said that you were there at one point before."

The young knight heard his father take a deep breath. "Arcs never fall in battle," he began. "Not all humans are born with a semblance; Beltran was one of those humans. Do you know why our family's semblance is so powerful, son?"

"No, why?"

"Because it's an inhuman power," Yves answered. "You should know by now that there are different classes of grimm."

"Minor, major and goliath," he thought out loud, "classified by size, strength and what seems to be intelligence."

"Correct," Jaune's father praised, "But there's one last class, so rare that only a handful exist. Grimm usually don't have sentience, they are just mindless creatures that attack everything that moves. But there are those that have lived for so long, learned from both humans and grimm and have gained a consciousness and an aura."

"What are those called?" Jaune asked, Goosebumps started to form on his skin and chills ran down his spine.

"They have many names, but the most common that we find in legends is 'devil'," he explained. "Our power is fueled by the devil grimm, nicknamed Bedlam, war and chaos incarnate. No one knows how he did it, but Beltran defeated the monster and gained these powers that only get stronger each generation."

"That's cool, I still don't get why it has to do with meeting him in the mindscape," Jaune wondered.

"Jaune… Son, I'm telling you this because you also need to know of its dangers, he only ever appears as sort of a ceremonial inheritance on the battlefield," the older man warned, "An Arc never falls in battle for a reason, we are protectors. If you haven't noticed by now, our power comes from protecting others. But this early for you powers to manifest means something big is coming."

"What do you mean?" Jaune tried to swallow the lump forming in his throat.

"From what our family has seen, our power manifests quickly in times of trouble. Some of our ancestors were lucky and didn't have their powers manifest until their early twenties, they were usually stationed to just protect our borders or just led relatively peaceful lives," Yves recalled, "I'm pretty sure Ozpin told you what happened during the war."

"But dad, we're in a time of peace," Jaune argued, "and there are more huntsmen and huntresses than ever before."

"The fact that your powers are manifesting so early means that something huge is about to happen and you'll need full mastery of them," Yves warned. "Train as much as you can."

"I will," Jaune assured his father.

"I heard about what happened in downtown Vale," Yves tried to lighten the mood, "that's only a small fraction of what your powers entail. But I'm proud of you for how bravely you fought to protect your friends and the city."

"Thanks dad, for everything," Jaune said gratefully.

"No problem, son," Yves said warmly in response, "you should call more often; your mother and I worry about you."

"I will at the next chance that I get," Jaune assured his father. "Bye dad, I'll see you when I get home during the summer."

"Bye son, take care and remember what I told you before you left," With that, the line went dead as the older man hung up the phone, leaving Jaune to his thoughts.

'Something huge is coming…' he thought to himself, recalling the events of his first mission with team RWBY. Jaune got up and started for the library exit, 'He's right, the train incident was just the start, we all need to get ready.'

* * *

><p>"I want these walls secured! No more military equipment going unchecked, the White Fang cannot gain more firepower," the general barked, "and I don't want to see any grimm within one hundred kilometers of the city!"<p>

"Sir, the reports say that the white fang has thousands of the mech suits and have stolen several tons of dust," a soldier reported.

"General Ironwood, large amounts of grimm are gathering in quadrant 17, like they're waiting for something," another voice came through the radio.

"There are reports of massive bursts of energy coming from the southern continent," a woman in a laboratory coat walked into the tent.

"Good Lord," the general swore, "It's like they're preparing for war."

"What should we do, sir?" the first soldier asked.

"Contact the other kingdoms," Ironwood decided, "this is no longer a war between humans and faunus."


	15. Chapter 15

**Author's note: I know it's been a while since I've update anything and I wasn't able to do a Christmas oneshot on time, but I finally finished this chapter. Shoutout to The95will for helping me out on this chapter, he wrote the sparring scene and it's so much better than what I originally had. He's an amazing writer and I recommend that you guys should check out his works.**

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><p>"You ready, Ash?!" he called over the sounds of the airship engine. The adolescent snow leopard gave an audible groan before jumping in tandem with his master to the ground below. Similar to their first mission, Jaune held the leopard as he hit the ground, using his semblance to cushion the impact. Pulling up his hood and using the cloud of dust as cover, the two jumped to the nearest tree and to the next to avoid being seen by potential enemies.<p>

Perched in the branches of a tree, Jaune took a moment to check his scroll for his position and plan out the direction he wanted to take. "What do you think, boy, do we want to?" he rhetorically asked the large feline as he scratched behind the ears, "Do we want to head in a spiral around the center, or do we just head there right away?" Distracted, Ash gave a long and contented groan as Jaune massaged the nape of his neck.

"I guess we should take the long way around," he thought out loud, tucking the device back into its place, "I mean we are out here for a whole week."

The pair started northeast, jumping from tree to tree and scanning the area for potential threats. The two had traveled for hours, avoiding as much confrontation with the grimm as possible as they tried to conserve their energy for covering more ground. 'I wonder if everyone else is getting missions like this,' Jaune thought as he recalled the events of the previous days.

"A solo mission?" Jaune asked skeptically.

"It's only reconnaissance, but if it makes you feel any better, I suppose I can allow you to bring Ash along," Ozpin answered.

"But I don't think we're ready yet, it's only been three months of training with Ash and-,"

"A month of training was already enough for you two to be able to fight off a horde of grimm," the headmaster reminded, cutting off his student.

"True, but what if something happens to us?" Jaune argued.

"You have your barrier semblance," Ozpin smirked, "Huntsman Pluto reported you being able to use it for extended periods of time, making you the most logical choice."

"Fine, what are the details?" the knight sighed in defeat.

"We are going to send you to the southern continent," the older man adjusted his glasses, "you will be equipped with a small long distance radio and tracking device so we can pick you up on a moment's notice. We've been getting reports of large bursts of energy in that area, so we need someone to investigate. An airship will be dropping you off a few miles from your destination and you will have to scout the surrounding area."

"Anything else, like what I should be looking for?" Jaune raised an eyebrow.

"We have no idea, that's why we're sending you," Ozpin pointed out.

"Makes sense," Jaune shrugged, "any other details like what I'll be provided with?"

"Enough food rations for ten days for both you and Ash and an emergency flare. You should pack light, and bring a first aid kit; your aura won't heal all wounds instantaneously. You will be dispatched tonight and will arrive at your drop off point the tomorrow morning," Ozpin explained, "Explore the area and we'll expect you back at the end of the seven days. I only hope that these bursts of energy are just a large deposit of dust, but report any and all activity in that area, grimm and human."

"Yes sir," Jaune confirmed and with that, left the office to prepare.

"Ash, it's time for- Ah!" Upon entering the dorm room, a large and heavy ball of fur pounced on his chest, knocking him to the ground. The feeling of wet sandpaper affectionately attacked his face followed by a feline head nuzzling up against the crook of Jaune's neck. "Wow, I just keep forgetting how much you've grown boy," he said as he got up to marvel at the sight of his training companion.

In the three short months of raising the cub, he had grown immensely. The snow leopard that had first appeared at the size of a small dog was now at the height of the knight's waist. The once almost nonexistent claws are now fully grown, hardened and looked menacing enough to repel the much bigger Cardin Winchester. The once cute face, now an aggressive sight enough to intimidate the largest of grimm accompanied by a muscular, but nimble and agile frame. It was a terrifying sight, the apex predator of the mountains here in his room, though he held a certain beauty that only a warrior could appreciate.

Leading the animal by the leash, Jaune headed down the hallway to the training hall. Passing Cardin on the way, the snow leopard snarled at the larger boy for amusement, earning a girlish scream in return. "Keep your animal under control, Jauney boy!" the pompous knight nearly screamed, pressed up against the wall in an attempt to distance himself as much he could from the large feline.

"It's not my fault you and your team got mauled while trying to stuff him in a sack last week during a nap. You know, I don't think he's forgotten that," Jaune reminded the boy while he unhooked the leash, "I could use a good laugh. Go on, boy, go get the meathead."

"What the hell are you doing?!" the larger knight took off running.

"I just need you to take him out for a run," Jaune called after him, "He's eventually going to catch up, so when he does just play dead, or distract him with something!"

"Are you sure that's a good idea?" Weiss approached from behind, a scowl on her face.

"He's fine, I made sure to train him so he doesn't kill humans," Jaune chuckled as Ash gave chase, "right now he's just playing. Besides, Cardin deserves it."

"Whatever," the white-haired girl shrugged. Clutching onto her boyfriend's arm she asked, "So when's our next date?"

"How about dinner when I get back from my next mission?" he suggested as he leaned to kiss her forehead.

"Mission?" she raised an eyebrow.

"It's just recon, but I'll be gone for a week."

"Alright, but don't die," Weiss warned, "I'll kill you if I have to miss dinner our dinner date to attend your funeral."

"Wait, how does that work?" Jaune scratched his head.

"Just don't die!" Weiss clutched his arm tighter, "I'll miss you if you do."

"Don't worry," he pulled away from her, holding her shoulders to reassure her, "I'll be fine. Besides, who else has an awesome snow leopard trained to fight grimm?"

"Alright," she nodded, doubt still plaguing her mind. A girlish, but bloodcurdling scream came from the courtyard followed by incoherent screams of panic, "You should probably go check on Cardin."

"You're right," Jaune agreed, planting a kiss on her cheek before departing, "Ash might get indigestion."

When Jaune arrived on the scene, Cardin was stripped of his armor and pants, cowering next to a pillar while Nora played Frisbee with the teenage leopard. Bystanders watched in awe and amusement as the resident bully got what he deserved. "Hey, Nora, where'd you get the new toy?" the knight chuckled, "I didn't know they make Frisbees that big."

"I don't know," Nora feigned ignorance and shrugged, "when I got here, Ash was chewing on this thing and I thought it looked like a Frisbee. I think it's Cardin's armor, but at this point, I can't tell anymore."

"Alright, I think that's enough," Jaune picked up the torn pants and threw it at the terrified boy, "you should really get out of that puddle…" he trailed off as he realized that it was not a puddle of water that Cardin was sitting in. "Okay, Ash, time for training."

"Aw, I never get to play with him," Nora pouted.

"Nora, you usually say no when I ask you," he reminded.

"But it's boring because we don't get to maul anyone."

"That would be really bad, and they'd have to put him down if he mauled anyone else," Jaune said defensively.

"Whatever," she childishly crossed her arms.

"Where's Ren, anyway, I heard he was making pancakes," he said in an attempt to distract her.

"That's not working on me this time, Jaune," she turned her head away, nose in the air.

"Weird, I thought I smelled maple syrup coming out of our room on the way here," in a flash, the girl turned into a pink blur as she sped to their dorm room.

Jaune reattached the leash back onto the snow leopard's harness and led him away from the scene and towards the training hall. Upon entering the room, he was met with the sound of bullets firing and metal clanging against the floor. Rose petals fluttered around as the girl, cloaked in red and black sped around the room, leaving a trail of explosions, carnage and emptied dust rounds behind her. The boy watched in awe at Ruby's skill, wondering how such a small girl could wield such a large and seemingly heavy weapon with ease. He walked towards the girl as soon as the simulation had finished. "You know, as cool as that hood and cloak look, It's gonna get caught on something. Remember what happened at initiation?"

"J-Jaune, how long were you watching?" she stammered, losing her composure at the sight of him.

"Long enough," he smirked at her sudden change in character, "mind if we spar?"

"No, not at all," she smiled, regaining her composure, "I just hope you can keep up."

"Don't worry, I don't need to," Jaune answered as he readied his sword and shield.

"If you say so," Ruby shrugged before she took off running. She circled the pair, Crescent Rose shifted into the scythe form in her approach. She launched herself in the air; her hands were positioned for a downward slice to separate Ash and Jaune. Thinking she'd gained the upper hand, sparks flew from blade end as Ash manifested his aura into a jagged peak emanating from his tail. The force was barely visible and soon both weapons grinded for sparks to fly. Seeing this fruitless attempt, Ruby had Crescent Rose shift into sniper from to fire and propel herself away. She landed perfectly as she adjusted her balance.

"You're gonna have to do better than that, Ruby," Jaune taunted, "If an animal could follow you, then you probably need more practice."

"Hmph, whatever," she pouted before disappearing in a cloud of rose petals. Her speed was immense as she shifted into two locations to fire two rounds at Jaune's feet then the second to Jaune's head. By reflex Jaune raised his shield to deflect the bullet. Rose peddles danced in the air.

Ruby had a clear shot on Jaune's back by the time she appeared her scythe was going for the slice. Jaune monitored all the sound of her movements as was Crescent Rose came in, it was already too late. Jaune ducked then looked back as Ruby's expression changed. In the second of stillness, he rolled under Ruby's swing, his sword rose up to deflect the scythe from its intended path and he flicked it to her side as he unfurled, landing a hit. The blow left a small but noticeable cut on her corset, Ruby started to feel a new emotion that didn't exist for her. It was strange, it felt like a raging fire but one was different. "Come one Ruby, you're not slowing down just for me, are you?" Jaune teased some more. That was the last spark needed for her to be consumed with the old emotion, anger.

Before Ruby made her move toward Jaune, Ash roared as he lunged from her right. When that happened, peddles took her place. On the landing, Ash rotated his body horizontally to be ready on the landing. Ash did so and so did Ruby. She landed and by now, she overexerted her Semblance and needed a moment to recharge. There was no time as Ash charged again, with a right swipe, the claw was short distance at first then Ruby slammed her scythe to ground facing upward. Ash's paw was too far to reach, but the distance was closed by a barely visible blade of aura. Ruby lifted Crescent Rose slightly then when Ash's weapon met her steel, it fired a sniper round for it go forward to charge Ash. The claw manifestation wasn't prepared as it struck Ash's fur. "Alright!" Ruby chimed.

As shifted the body to reverse then the tail tugged on Ruby's scythe. Her grip was strong, but that was what Ash was counting on. The tail secured the launch as he circled around. In retaliation Ruby ducked down as Ash swung by. Then Ash jumped off because the loss of speed. Ruby kicked her scythe up then began to twirl it around with increasing speed. Ash went for a swipe but his extension was blocked.

Jaune jumped forward with his shield at the ready. Soon Ruby's scythe reached the speed to fire the occasional bullet. It made the approach difficult but not impossible. Jaune snapped his head to the right with a bullet cutting a single hair. When he closed the distance, Jaune charged at the barrage with the shield was angled upward as Ruby reversed the twirl.

The shield scrapped the first swipe. Then the second swipe was the same thing. The third was the same as well with a slight decline in speed. On the seventh hit, Jaune forced his shield upward to collide with the scythe. The when he did, Ruby was smiling; it was a Trojan horse since on the motion to return, the barrel of the weapon pointed directly at Jaune. In a split second, Ruby fired sending Jaune flying backwards. On the fall he adjusted the flight and landed on his feet.

"I always wanted a custom weapon, but then I learned that they're too loud. It's easy to track your movements." Jaune deadpanned. Ash regrouped to his side.

"That's not true." Ruby heaved as she put a fresh clip into her weapon then retracted the barrel.

Jaune raised his sword then pointed at her. "Then prove me wrong." His grin was of pure joy, and that made Ruby's lip wince.

"Let's do this buddy." Jaune crouched down with Ash charging at him as well. Summoning his aura to amplify his strength, Jaune propelled Ash into the air. When he did, he sprinted toward Ruby.

Taking a moment to see the targets, Ash above and Jaune below. They must have a plan either way so she fired two rounds at Jaune to force him to block. The scythe was brought up to smack the claws from above. Jaune came in for a horizontal slash. Ruby ducked back then Ash sent an array of attacks her way. At the end, the right paw slashed the air for a construct to manifest to her direction. The projectile covered Jaune's advance to stand in front of her.

Giving a deep growl, Ruby shot Crescent Rose, using the recoil to launch her towards him. She unleashed a flurry of attacks, powerful and yet graceful in her own way. She grew more and more frustrated each time Jaune had easily parried or blocked each of her attacks, yet not countering once. Her eyes scanned every parry then for that right moment; she lowered Crescent Rose scythe end to during the moment of Jaune's attack. With it in position, she pulled Rose back, catching him off balance. Once he started to stumble, she slapped his body with the flat of her weapon, launching him in the air. She finally felt satisfied with herself until she felt his shield hit her, knocking her to the ground. "Hey! That's not-," she was cut off by her cloak pulling her back, finding that it had been impaled against the wall and held in place by his sword.

Ash jumped up to bit the handle of Crescent Rose as Ruby hung by her hood.

"See, I told you," the knight made his point as he removed the blade from her cloak, "that was fun, though I do have to admit that it was hard to keep up."

'It didn't look like it,' she thought to herself. "Whatever, just let me down!" Ruby scrambled about as she dangled from Jaune's sword. Jaune chuckled at her causing Ruby to feel a light blush rush her cheeks. Seeing that he prodded her enough he adjusted his sword to lower Ruby.

She sat on the floor. 'How did I lose?' Jaune noticed her expression.

"Remember what I said about weapons being too loud, well that's the case of half the students of Beacon. They shift during combat and when it does, it tells the opponent what to expect." Jaune turned to Ash then waved at him. Ash complied by lowering his head to release Ruby's weapon. "I learned that while training with Ash. He loved making me dance to his hearing. Because of him, I learned sound is an important tool or it could lead to your defeat." Jaune offered his hand to Ruby, she took it as his hand felt warm when she returned to her feet.

"You've gotten better since our first mission," she complimented.

"I'd hope so," Jaune responded as he sheathed his sword, "I don't think that Ozpin would send me on a mission alone if I hadn't."

"Alone?"

"It's just recon, but I should be back next week."

"Then make it back safely," the petite girl looked at the knight with a worried look on her face, "I've already lost my mother and I don't want to lose anyone else."

"I promise, I'll make it back," he placed a hand on her shoulder to assure and comfort her, "but if I don't I just want to say I'm sorry. I'm sorry for not returning your feelings and for not being a better friend."

Ruby stared at the floor in silence, letting her hair hide the emotions ready to burst. She felt him turn to leave and took her chance. She wrapped her arms around him from behind, stopping him in his tracks. "Ruby, I have to go," she heard him say, to which she dropped her arms and heard him leave. As soon as she was sure the pair had left the room, she fell to the floor and hugged her knees in sorrow.

'Please don't go,' Ruby's left eye began to well up a tear. Before it fell, a warm sensation rubbed on her shin. Ruby looked down in surprise to see Ash rubbing himself along her legs. He was comforting her. Then after several rubs, Ash walked to Crescent Rose to take a bit then passed it to Ruby before leaving.

Jaune walked back to his dorm room, dreading the next task he had to complete. Upon entering the room and unhooking Ash's leash, he went straight to packing and preparing for his recently assigned mission. 'Extra set of clothes, check. Food rations, check. Extra battery for my scroll, check…' the knight went through a mental checklist before his train of thought was interrupted by the sound of the door opening. He cocked his head towards the source of the noise and locked eyes with a certain redhead. At the sight of him, she paused and turned on her heel to exit the room. "Pyrrha," he called.

"Yes, Jaune?" she replied nervously.

"Why are you avoiding me?" He stood up from his corner of the room and walked over to meet her.

"I haven't, I just…" she trailed off, unable to find the correct words to say.

"Pyrrha, please. You haven't talked to me much since, you know…" Jaune referred to her confession at the hospital, "Besides class and sleeping in this room, you can't stay in the same room with me for more than five minutes without making a terrible excuse to leave, and you refuse to even make eye contact when you actually talk to me. You're avoiding me."

"I just need some time," she answered before turning away.

"You're acting like a child, Pyrrha," Jaune grabbed her wrist before she had the chance to walk out the door, "I know how you feel, to not have someone love you back, believe me when I say 'I know it hurts.' But acting like this, you're no better than an elementary school student."

Pyrrha kept her back to the boy, she shivered as the first few drops crept down her face, "Jaune, I've silently loved you for so long. I tried my best to support you even when you had trouble asking Weiss to the dance. What she did before our first mission was inexcusable. She took what most girls would give the world to have and stomped it into the ground, you deserve better than that."

"Pyrrha, I'm sorry that I don't feel the same way," Jaune started, "you're an amazing friend and I wouldn't want to change that. I admit that I did have a crush on you at first."

"Then what changed?" Pyrrha turned to face him, showing the tears that had been flowing from her eyes.

"It wasn't long before I started seeing you differently. I can no longer see you as someone I could have romantic feelings for. You've become the one I could depend on the most both in the heat of battle and when I just need someone to talk to. You've become more like a sister to me," Jaune pulled her into a hug, "You're an amazing woman, and although you might be right about me deserving better than Weiss, I know for a fact that you deserve better than me. You deserve someone better to lead this team, a better friend, and someone better to love you."

"Why tell me this now?" the girl asks, pulling her hand away in frustration, "It's been a month since you've rejected me and all you told me was that you just didn't feel the same way! Why don't you just disappear?!"

"You said you needed some time, so you'll get it," he answered calmly, holding back and trying his best to hide his sadness, "I'll be gone for a week, but if I don't' come back, I just want you to know I'm sorry."

Jaune silently held the crying warrior in his arms for what seemed for an eternity until Pyrrha violently pulled away from the knight and stormed out of the room. He sat on his bed lamenting the pain he had caused to the people so close to him. Ash cautiously approached the boy before rubbing up against his leg in an attempt to comfort him while letting out a small groan to get his attention. "Thanks, boy, but I'll be fine," Jaune smiled, rubbing the nape of the snow leopards neck before resuming his previous task of packing.

As he approached the airship, Jaune looked around to find no one present. 'Figures,' he thought to himself as he and Ash boarded the vehicle, 'I broke some hearts, I was an asshole, of course they wouldn't show up to at least say goodbye.'

Once Jaune was in his seat, he looked out the window as the aircraft took off, unconsciously petting his companion. He watched with guilt in his heart as the school faded from view.


	16. Chapter 16

**Author's note: Happy New Years Eve! I just managed to finish writing this chapter shortly after I posted the last chapter. I will get back to Jaune's solo mission in future chapters, I just thought I'd give you a new year's chapter.**

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><p>Jaune trudged up the hill and through the snow with Ash at his side, the tower of Ozpin's office slowly came in to his view as the sun set. The snow fell lightly, but the amount that had settled had indicated the length of time he had missed. The knight's clothes were torn and tattered and his armor had several dents and tears. Ash didn't look any better either, his fur coat, though thickened by the time of year, no longer had its sheen and was missing patches where his cuts were healing. 'Two months,' he thought to himself, relief overtaking his body as he approached the walls of Vale. The soldiers stationed at the border wasted no time in taking him back to the school where he hurriedly filled out the reports of his findings.<p>

"It's new year's eve, Jaune," Ozpin interrupted the exhausted knight who was midway through writing a sentence, "Your friends are having a small party to celebrate. Go have a bit of fun and we'll do the report tomorrow."

"Thank you sir," Jaune wearily shook his hand before leaving the office.

Jaune managed to slip through the entrance of the dorms unnoticed and made his way back to his team's dorm room. Turning on the light he found, to no surprise, that it was empty. He took his time, slowly removing his damaged armor, savoring the relief.

"We're home, Ash," he sighed in content as he rubbed the soap into the snow leopard's fur. After rinsing off the soap with warm water, he gently dried the adolescent cub's fur, making sure that he didn't pull any hairs out accidentally. The snow leopard walked out of the bathroom and to his usual spot at the foot of Jaune's bed, curled up into a ball and promptly fell asleep. "You deserve it, buddy," the knight said gently as he stroked the gray coat of fur before walking back to the bathroom to shower himself.

Setting it to the hottest temperature, Jaune stripped off his clothes while waiting for the water to heat up. He stepped into the streams of water, instantly feeling the tension and soreness leave him. The heat of the shower felt so good to him in contrast to sleeping in the bitter cold of winter for what seemed so long. He lathered up his body and hair, taking care to remove any dirt and sweat that had clung to him for so long and watched the darkened water wash down the drain. After toweling off, he pulled on a clean pair of boxers, jeans, plain white t-shirt and a black sweater before heading off to find his friends.

After briefly searching the campus for any sort of party, he found the cafeteria lights still on. Shrugging to himself, he slowly opened the door. Inside he found the rest of his team along with teams RWBY, CVFY and SSSN sitting around a fairly large table, partaking in a rather large feast. Confetti and decorations were strewn around the corner in where they had their small gathering, indicating someone had a little too much fun. Jaune slowly made his way to the table, excitement apparent on his face, but stopped at the sight of Weiss's fingers interlocking with Neptune's. The feeling of excitement and happiness to finally be home with his friends was quickly replaced by the feeling of his heart sinking.

"Looks the dead has come back to life," Sun happily announced to the group once he had caught sight of the blond.

"Yeah, well now I wish I hadn't," Jaune responded while eyeing the couple. Rage entered his mind, he wanted to lash out and break something or someone. Turning around, he started towards the exit, sadness quickly replacing the anger.

"Jaune, wait," he heard a voice behind him followed by chairs moving and footsteps following him. Once he was out the door he took off running.

His legs carried him nowhere in particular, he just knew he had to run. Jaune ignored the grumble in his stomach and ran until he found himself at the edge of Beacon cliff. He panted heavily, exhausted and out of breath, he fell face first into the snow. He lied there, letting himself succumb to the depression that had followed him for so long, wanting the cold and starvation to take his life right at that moment. He heard footsteps approach him with the distinct sound of the snow being compressed. "Jaune," he heard a meek voice come from beside him. He rolled over to find a face hooded in red looking down at him.

"Hey Ruby," he greeted before rolling back to his original position and speaking into the snow, "don't mind me, if the cold winter night or the starvation doesn't kill me, there's always that cliff over there."

"We all thought you were dead," she quietly told him, "when Ozpin told us that the closest outpost was overrun with grimm and they had lost contact with you, we all lost it. Your team, Weiss and I, we all just broke down. Ren and Nora had each other for comfort, Pyrrha just spent more time training and everyone else helped Weiss get over you, Neptune just happened to be there."

"Great to know she'd take anyone at the right place and time," Jaune groaned as he sat up. "What about you, how did you deal with it?"

"I couldn't," Ruby managed to say with her faltering voice, embracing the knight before the first few tears left her eyes, "When you left, I didn't know if I'd ever see you again, and I just didn't want to lose you."

"Nine hundred miles," Jaune finally said after several minutes of holding her while she sobbed into his chest, "I traveled nine hundred miles of snow, fighting grimm and struggling to survive until I could find the nearest outpost just so I could make it back. I wanted to come back to my team, my friends, Weiss…" Jaune paused, "And you."

Ruby looked up into Jaune's eyes, tears still flowing from her eyes. In them she saw all the hurt, sadness and emptiness they held. She could see the worst thing that any human or faunus could feel, he was broken. She wanted to take it all away from him, she wanted to rid him of the pain that plagued his heart because she'd made his pain her own.

"I love you, Jaune," she muttered, not noticing herself leaning towards him ever so slowly. She found herself examining the small details of his face and the small changes that had happened in the two months he'd spent fighting his way back. Besides the lower half of his face being covered in facial hair, the bags under his eyes had grown noticeably bigger, and there were small crease marks between his eyebrows and on his forehead.

Ruby's thoughts were interrupted as the as the sound of the first of the fireworks were launched into the air which signaled the beginning of a new year. The pair watched as the tiny ball of flames climbed into the sky, bursting into a beautiful array of red and yellow. The following were a multitude of colors that quickly disappeared and soon the darkened sky was ablaze with colorful flames. "I made you a promise before I left," Jaune said, turning his head back to hers, "I promised that I'd make it back."

"You lied, you weren't back when you were supposed to be," Ruby childishly pouted.

"I'm here now," Jaune smirked, closing the gap between their faces and holding her against his body tightly.

Her eyes widened as their lips met, she could feel the longing in his lips that yearned so desperately for love. Ruby closed her eyes, returning the kiss, doing her best to show that she meant what she told him. The fireworks could still be heard, and the light of the colors illuminated their faces, covered in tears and melted snow. Her first kiss lasted mere seconds, but felt like forever to the girl as waves of bliss washed over her.

As soon as the kiss was broken, an immediate sense of guilt soon replaced the feeling of pleasure and settled in Ruby's stomach. Her feelings for Jaune hadn't changed, but she had realized that she had taken advantage of him in his moment of vulnerability. He was exhausted, heartbroken and depressed and she just used it to get what she wanted. She felt saddened when she looked into his eyes, finding that the emptiness had not left him. 'I'm the worst,' she thought to herself as she hugged him once more. The embrace was no longer filled with happiness, no, it was now filled with confusion and sadness as she realized that the Jaune she had met had in fact died and was replaced by someone she could no longer recognize.


	17. Chapter 17

**Author's note: I would like to apologize for the lack of updates, I've been sick for a week and I start courses again today. I'm sure that early in the semester I'll be able to update pretty often, but I know it'll slow down towards the approach of summer. This chapter was a pain in the ass to write, and I know I used too many cliches in here, but with writer's block, you gotta make do with what you got. I hope you people enjoy the chapter, despite how terrible my writing is, and remember that feedback that is super critical helps me improve.**

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><p>"Alright, let's start from the beginning, what happened when you got off the plane?" Ozpin asked.<p>

"First, what do you know about Devil grimm?" Jaune warily asked the headmaster.

"Those are just legends, Mister Arc," Ozpin smiled, taking a sip from his mug to hide the worried look in his eyes.

"Sir, with all due respect, you and I both know that's not true," Jaune sternly said, "Please, tell me what you know."

Ozpin took a deep breath, calming his nerves before speaking. "As far as I know, they are incredibly powerful and dangerous grimm, having both sentient thought and powerful aura. The Devil grimm were sealed by powerful ancients whose descendants carry their power today."

"Then you know of my lineage, don't you?"

"Beltran Arc, the first of the Arc family, the legendary knight and the first to slay a Devil grimm, Bedlam," Ozpin repeated Yves's words to him.

"Alright, now I can tell you what I found," Jaune started recalling the events of his mission, "The first few days were uneventful, it's what you'd expect to find outside the walls of a kingdom, random packs of grimm and a whole lot of nothing. But it was on the fourth day of the mission when Ash and I got to the source of the 'bursts of power' that the scientists have been picking up."

Jaune walked into the clearing, scroll in hand and his companion at his side. "This is where it's marked on the map, I'm sure," the knight thought out loud as he looked around in confusion. Unsure of what was supposed to happen, he called the one name that came to mind, "Bedlam, show yourself!"

Waiting for a while, Jaune jumped as he heard the rustling of the trees in the wind. Shrugging it off as nothing, Jaune started to walk in the direction of Vale's outpost, which was just a few miles from where he stood. He stopped as he saw the red eyes of an ursa at the edge of the clearing. The knight readied his sword and shield, preparing for a small scrimmage before noticing that the creature wasn't alone. All around, he was surrounded by grimm, some of which he's seen and some he had never seen before.

"That's a dangerous name to be calling out in the open like this," he heard a chilling voice whisper into his ear, as if the source of it was directly behind him.

Turning around, he watched as the grimm that surrounded him turn to dust, converging into a spot in the clearing. The air turned cold as Jaune sensed an enormous amount of aura coming from where the dust was gathering. The darkened particles of the grimm cleared, revealing a door. It had an intricate design carved into it and the handle was adorned by a multitude of gems and minerals.

Anxiety filled his stomach as he watched the handle slowly turn, waiting for whatever monstrosity the door hid to come out and attack him. The door creaked as it swung open, but what it had revealed left Jaune in shock. "Beltran! It's been far too long, old friend," a young looking man dressed in a blue hood waltzed from the portal and gave the knight a rather friendly hug, "how long has it been? Six thousand, sixty five hundred years? You haven't aged a day!"

"Um, who are you?" Jaune looked at the man in confusion.

"Don't tell me you've forgotten," the man visibly looked hurt by Jaune's statement, "It's me, Bedlam, you know, Devil grimm, one of the most powerful mages on Remnant."

"You're Bedlam? My dad told me that our ancestor defeated you!"

"Is that what the rumor he's been spreading all these years?" Bedlam said with a confused look on his face, "That's not very nice is it, and after all that I've done for him and his family. I mean the special power, _and_ the stamina to hold all that power nonetheless."

"Bedlam, it's been about seven thousand years since you've met my ancestor. Beltran's dead, I'm his descendant, Jaune Arc," the boy explained, despite the strange situation.

"Oh, that explains the misinformation. I swear, you humans have a strange tendency of messing up information," Bedlam rambled, "I mean one day, you're the best friend of a very famous knight, and the next, you wake up from a nap and his descendant thinks you were killed. By the way, how's the shield power thing? I know it's incomplete, but how has it been doing for your family?"

"Well, uh, we're still alive, I guess that's something," Jaune hesitantly answered, "and what do you mean 'incomplete'?"

"Well the thing is, when Beltran came to me, he wanted the power to protect," the hooded man explained, "reason being was because my family wasn't too fond of humans. Anyway, because I had such a short amount of time, I could only give him an enchanted sword, forged from the tooth that I knocked out of my brother's mouth, an incomplete power to protect himself and a couple ornaments I enchanted, you know, some stuff that I could find around the house."

"I don't see how it's incomplete, I've been able to hold off hordes of grimm by myself," Jaune argued trying to defend the man's work, "it's even protected me against a large explosion."

"It's supposed to be the ultimate defense, something that my brothers can't break," Bedlam whined as he paced back and forth, "activate your power and I'll show you."

"Um alright, what are you- Ow! What the hell, man?!" as soon as Jaune called on his semblance, he heard a loud shattering sound as Bedlam's fist connected with the side of his face.

"You heard it too, right? The shattering; if I can break through it, that means it won't stop my brothers' attacks," Bedlam sternly explained. "I keep sending an observer to bring me back some data, but they never return, but you brought him with you!" the hooded man affectionately rubbed the snow leopard's head, "I keep sending a cat to find and keep tabs on your family every so often, but they never come back. I can see why, they get so attached."

"You sent Ash?!" Jaune's jaw dropped.

"Of course, how else do you think a kitten would survive the journey to find you?" Bedlam explained, "I'll find a kitten, give it a rather good amount of aura and send it off to find you, but I didn't expect it to change into a larger feline species."

"That would explain Ash acting more like a cat than a predator," Jaune noted, recalling the time he spent raising the feline. "Anyway, what do we do about this incomplete power?"

"Luckily for you, I've spent the last several millennia carefully crafting the ultimate shield for your family," he said before disappearing back into the door.

"Hmm, that's a Devil grimm?" Jaune looked to Ash in confusion, "I expected some kind of giant monster, not some overly friendly dust mage."

"You're actually correct about that," Bedlam said as he stuck his head out of the door, "my brothers and I are monsters. Devil grimm are colossuses of pure power and destruction who want nothing more than to rule over humans."

"You don't look like a monster."

"I'm the same as my brothers I am a monster, but because of Beltran, I no longer have the need to feed off of negative emotions," the man answered. "You know, he was my first friend, the first human to ever talk to me. He's the reason why I want to help humanity survive. I've gained more than just power from the overflowing prosperity of humans, I've also gained a sense of humanity. A soul, if you could call it that."

"Over the centuries, my family has been called protectors," Jaune put a hand on the man's shoulder as a friendly gesture, "it's because of you and what you've done for my family that the Humanity was able to last this long. I thank you for that."

"Thank you, Jaune. You have no idea how much that means to me," Bedlam smiled.

"You may be a Devil Grimm, but what you are doesn't define who you are," Jaune reassured the man. "There are humans that can be considered monsters, but from what I can tell and what you've done, you're more human than those people."

"If you're ready, I can give you the completed power now, but I have to warn you, it's going to hurt. A lot."

"I'm ready, let's do this," Jaune confidently said as he braced himself.

"Uh, you should step inside my home first," Bedlam suggested, "there are too many creatures of darkness in the area, and doing this now will make you too vulnerable for me or the cat to protect."

Jaune silently agreed, cautiously stepping through the door shaped portal. After stepping through, he found what seemed to be a living room, complete with couches and a coffee table. "You weren't kidding when you said 'home'," Jaune muttered as he took a seat.

"This won't feel pretty," Bedlam said, pulling a glowing vial out of his pocket. "This is the first time a semblance has even been altered, so I'm not entirely sure what will happen, but I'm sure it'll work."

"Great to know," Jaune nervously said as he took the vial, "so, how is this supposed to work?"

"I'm not really sure," Bedlam shrugged, "Just open it and see what happens."

Following the instructions, Jaune warily uncorked the vial to find no reaction. Staring at the glow, the knight slowly brought it to his mouth. "Maybe I should drink it?" he suggested.

"Wait, hold on," Bedlam grabbed Jaune's wrist, "I should take notes; I mean this is the first time a semblance will be altered."

Sighing after the hooded mage returned with a notepad, Jaune swiftly drank the substance as if it were a shot of alcohol. "I feel fine," he said as he made a quick inspection of his body, "It wasn't so-"

"Jaune!" was the last thing he remembered hearing as his senses faded and his body keeled over.

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><p>During the report, the headmaster recalled the events that ran concurrent to this point in Jaune's mission.<p>

"Vale, come in, this is the outpost 17," the soldier frantically spoke into the radio, "We need reinforcements!"

"Outpost 17?! Outpost 17, please come in, reinforcements are on their way!" Ozpin screamed into the microphone. Turning to His platinum haired assistant, he ordered, "Contact Ironwood and get reinforcements from Atlesian outpost 14!"

Before Glynda could follow her orders, several bloodcurdling screams could be heard from the receiver followed by the sounds of flesh, clothes and armor being ripped apart. "No, no, no!" Ozpin grew louder with each repetition while Glynda stayed silent.

"Keep your voice down, headmaster," a distorted voice came from the radio, "you might wake the resting soldiers."

The usually calm man let out a deep growl at the taunt, "Who are you, why are you doing this and what the hell do you want?"

"It's too soon for you to know, but I will tell you who I am," the voice came again, "I am the one to usher in a new war, and out of the ashes, humanity will rise to a new Remnant."

With that, the line went dead. "What are your orders sir?" Glynda cautiously asked her superior.

"Contact Atlesian outpost 14," Ozpin answered in a low and shaky voice, "tell them to find Jaune Arc, we need him back in Vale."

"Very well, Ozpin," Glynda turned and exited the room.

Ozpin turned his chair to face the window. He closed his eyes as the old memory came to him once more. An old woman sat him down onto her lap. 'Mother,' he thought.

'I will tell you one story before bed time,' he recalled her smiling ever so lovingly. 'This is the story of the time before the kingdoms, when the world was covered in darkness. Mankind fought every day to survive, but they were ruled by the evil so much stronger than they. Ancients, creatures of darkness who gained immense power through consuming the souls of humans.'

'Only the shield can protect from their attacks and only the sword can harm them. Only the spear can reach them and only the scythe can reap them. These are the tools of the great warrior, bestowed to him by war and chaos incarnate. Only the successors can wield these tools against the ancients. The warrior who possesses the sword and shield has wandered this world, protecting the unprotected and tending the land. The spear had been lost in the ages, but the last known to wield it was akin to the statue of a god. The scythe was destroyed in the final battle against the darkness, but only one of great skill can even touch the scythe.'

'According to the legend of the people who live outside the kingdoms, these ancient creatures, demons as they would call them, would rise again to reclaim the world. The owners of these tools can stop them, but like his tools, the warrior and the successors has been lost.'


End file.
